Meloidogyne luci found again in Slovenia
In Slovenia, Meloidogyne luci (EPPO Alert List) was first found in 2003 on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) roots in a glasshouse situated in the village of Dornberk. At that time, this tropical nematode species was identified as M. ethiopica but subsequent studies confirmed that the species found in Dornberk was in fact M. luci. In the infested glasshouse, all plants were destroyed, and as no further root-knot nematode infestations were found, the outbreak was considered to be eradicated (EPPO RS 2011/004, 2016/012 and 2017/126). However, during a field survey on root-knot nematodes conducted in 2015, M. luci was found again on tomato roots in a glasshouse located in the village of Šmartno near Ljubljana. Infested tomato plants showed symptoms of decline and leaf chlorosis, and large galls were present on the roots. Nematode infestation was relatively high as more than 80% of the plants were severely infested. The village of Šmartno is situated approximately 100 km away from the infested site of 2003. Strict phytosanitary measures were imposed in the infested glasshouse to eradicate M. luci and included the destruction of all infested plants and the use of soil disinfection. However, as the eradication programme implemented since 2015 has not been successful to-date, only resistant tomato cultivars, non-host or poor-host crops have been allowed to be grown in the infested glasshouse. The success of this crop rotation in eliminating M. luci will be assessed in the future.
The situation of Meloidogyne luci in Slovenia can be described as follows: Present, few occurrences (1 tomato glasshouse), under eradication.
Sources
Gerič Stare B, Strajnar P, Širca S, Susič N, Urek G (2018) Record of a new location for tropical root knot nematode Meloidogyne luci in Slovenia. Bulletin OEPP/EPPO Bulletin 48(early view). DOI: 10.1111/epp.12443