EPPO Global Database

EPPO Reporting Service no. 09 - 2019 Num. article: 2019/177

New data on quarantine pests and pests of the EPPO Alert List


By searching through the literature, the EPPO Secretariat has extracted the following new data concerning quarantine pests and pests included (or formerly included) on the EPPO Alert List, and indicated in bold the situation of the pest concerned using the terms of ISPM no. 8.


  • New records

Corythauma ayyari (Hemiptera: Tingidae - jasmine lace bug) was first found in Syria in 2017. The pest was observed causing defoliation on Jasminum grandiflorum and J. sambac in public and private gardens in Latakia city, as well as in its surroundings (Zeity & Ali, 2019). Present, first found in 2017 in the area of Latakia.


In Rwanda, during a survey conducted in August 2017 to characterise the plant-parasitic nematodes associated with potato (Solanum tuberosum), Globodera rostochiensis (EPPO A2 List) was found in 3 districts: Rubavu (Western Province), Musanze and Burera (both in Northern Province). As this study was only based on 10 samples, further surveys are needed to investigate the distribution of G. rostochiensis in Rwanda (Niragire et al., 2019). The situation of Globodera rostochiensis in Rwanda can be described as follows: Present, first found in 2017 in Western and Northern Provinces


In Michigan (US), symptoms of chestnut brown rot were observed on nuts of Castanea mollissima and C. sativa x C. crenata in autumn 2016. Laboratory studies (molecular tests, inoculation tests) confirmed the presence of Gnomoniopsis smithogilvyi. This is the first time that this fungus is reported from Michigan (Sakalidis et al., 2019). Present, first found in 2016 in Michigan. According to the information available at the EPPO Secretariat, this is also a first record for the Americas.


Hercinothrips dimidiatus (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) was first found in Corse (France) in September 2018. The pest was observed in Ajaccio on Aloe spp. plants in public parks and gardens (Internet, 2018). Present, first found in 2018 in Ajaccio.


In Jordan, the red palm mite, Raoiella indica (Acari: Tenuipalpidae – formerly EPPO Alert List), was first observed in 2017 on date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) growing at the University of Jordan Station, Jordan Valley (Kholoud et al., 2019). Present, first found in 2017 in Jordan Valley.


In Algeria, Phenacoccus madeirensis (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae - bougainvillea mealybug) was first detected in summer 2018 in private gardens in Salamandre (north-western Algeria), feeding on ornamental plants: Hibiscus rosasinensis, Hibiscus syriacus, Cestrum nocturnum, and Aloysia citriodora (Guenaoui et al., 2019).Present, first found in 2018 in north-western Algeria.


In Belgium, Thrips setosus (Thysanoptera: Thripidae – formerly EPPO Alert List) was first found in 2018 during a research project financed by the Belgian NPPO. During a survey carried out in 23 locations, T. setosus was found near Ghent in one glasshouse on Hydrangea cuttings. The identity of the pest was confirmed by molecular methods (Goedefroit et al., 2019; NPPO of Belgium, 2019-09). Present, first found in 2018 in one glasshouse.


In the USA, Dickeya dianthicola (EPPO A2 List) causing blackleg on potato (Solanum tuberosum) is reported for the time from Texas. This outbreak is associated with an infected seed potato lot originating from Wisconsin where the bacterium was detected during surveys conducted in 2015 and 2016 (Nasaruddin et al., 2019).


Meloidogyne graminicola (EPPO Alert List) occurs in Sichuan, China. In June 2018, stunned and yellowish plants were observed in rice fields in Guanghan City. Galls and hooked tips were found in the roots of affected seedlings and plants. Laboratory studies (morphological and molecular methods) confirmed the identity of the nematode (Xie et al., 2019).


In Brazil, the red palm mite, Raoiella indica (Acari: Tenuipalpidae – formerly EPPO Alert List), was first reported in 2009 in the State of Roraima. Despite quarantine measures, it further spread to Amazonas in 2011. In 2016 it was first detected in Northeast region, first in Ceará state and a few months later in 12 other states: 7 in Northeastern Brazil (Alagoas, Bahia, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte and Sergipe), 2 in Midwestern Brazil (Distrito Federal and Goiás), 2 in South-Eastern Brazil (Minas Gerais, São Paulo), and 1 in Southern Brazil (Paraná). R. indica is considered to be a threat for banana and coconut production (Melo et al., 2018)


Rhagoletis completa (Diptera: Tephritidae – EU Annexes) was first found in Corse (France) in August 2018 near Ajaccio (Internet).



  • New pests and taxonomy

During studies on the genetic variability of Xyleborus glabratus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae – EPPO Alert List) populations native to Southeast Asia, two populations were found to present significant differences from the other population. As individuals from these two populations presented consistent morphological differences, it was concluded that they corresponded to two new species: Xyleborus insidiosus n. sp. and Xyleborus mysticulus n.sp. A new description of X. glabratus was also provided. Considering that the biology and host range of these two new species are unknown, it is concluded that their introduction to other regions of the world should be prevented (Cognato et al., 2019).


Taxonomic studies have concluded that Aeolesthes sarta (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae – EPPO A2 List) should be transferred to the genus Trirachys, and thus called Trirachys sartus (Vitali et al., 2017).


Sources

Cognato A, Smith SM, Li Y, Pham TH, Hulcr J (2019) Genetic variability among Xyleborus glabratus populations native to Southeast Asia (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae: Xyleborini) and the description of two related species. Journal of Economic Entomology 112(3), 274-1284. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toz026

Goedefroit T, Bonte J, Reybroeck E, Bosmans L, San Martin G, Witters J (2019) First report of Thrips setosus in Belgium. EPPO Bulletin 49(2), 386-387. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/epp.12589

Guenaoui Y, Watson GW, Labdaoui ZE (2019) First record of the mealybug Phenacoccus madeirensis Green, 1923 (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Pseudococcidae) in Algeria. EPPO Bulletin 49(2), 352–354. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/epp.12574

INTERNET

--Bulletin de Santé du Végétal Corse – JEVI – N°5 – 28 septembre 2018. http://draaf.corse.agriculture.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/BSV_JEVI_5_Flash_29septembre2018_cle0565ea.pdf

- Bulletin de Santé du Végétal Corse – JEVI – N°6 – 14 décembre 2018. https://corse.chambres-agriculture.fr/fileadmin/user_upload/Corse/077_Inst_Corse/Espace_regional/Agro_Ecologie/Documents/Bulletin_de_sante_du_vegetal/Zone_non_agricole/2018/BSV_JEVI_6_14decembre2018.pdf

Kholoud M. Alananbeh, Salah-EddinAraj, Haitham M, Al Taweel (2019) First record of Raoiella indica Hirst (Acari: Tenuipalpidae) in Jordan. International Journal of Acarology 45(4), 233-234, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01647954.2019.1602165

Melo JWS, Navia D, Mendes, Rosenya JA, Filgueiras MC, Teodoro AV, Ferreira JMS, Guzzo EC, de Souza IV, de Mendonça RS, Calvet EC, Paz Neto AA, Gondim MGC, de Morais EGF, Godoy MS, dos Santos JR, Silva RIR, da Silva VB, Norte RF, Oliva AB, dos Santos RDP, Domingos CA (2018) The invasive red palm mite, Raoiella indica Hirst (Acari: Tenuipalpidae), in Brazil: range extension and arrival into the most threatened area, the Northeast Region. International Journal of Acarology 44 (4-5), 146-149. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01647954.2018.1474945

Nasaruddin AS, Charkowski AO, Babler BN, Perna NT, Glasner JD (2019) First report of Dickeya dianthicola causing blackleg on potato in Texas. Plant Disease 103(8), p 2121. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-01-19-0024-PDN

Niragire I, Couvreur M, Karssen G, Uwumukiza B, Bert W (2019) First report of potato cyst nematode (Globodera rostochiensis) infecting potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) in Rwanda. Plant Disease. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-04-19-0891-PDN

NPPO of Belgium (2019-09).

Sakalidis ML, Medina-Mora CM, Kolp M, Fulbright DW (2019) First report of Gnomoniopsis smithogilvyi causing chestnut brown rot on chestnut fruit in Michigan. Plant Disease 103(8), p 2134. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-03-19-0562-PDN

Vitali F, Gouverneur X, Chemin G (2017) Revision of the tribe Cerambycini: redefinition of the genera Trirachys Hope, 1843, Aeolesthes Gahan, 1890 and Pseudaeolesthes Plavilstshikov, 1931 (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae). Les Cahiers Magellanes no. 26, 40-65.

Xie JL, Xu X, Yang F, Xue Q, Peng YL, Ji HL (2019) First report of root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne graminicola, on rice in Sichuan Province, Southwest China. Plant Disease 103(8), p 2142. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-03-19-0502-PDN

Zeity M, Ali AY (2019) First report of the lacebug Corythauma ayyari (Drake) (Hemiptera:Tingidae) on Jasminum grandiflorum L. and Jasminum sambac (L.) from Syria. EPPO Bulletin 49(3) 398-400. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/epp.12578

Zhao L, Wang Y, He W, Zhang Y (2019) Stem blight of blueberry caused by Lasiodiplodia vaccinii sp. nov. in China. Plant Disease 103(8), 2041-2050.