EPPO Global Database

EPPO Reporting Service no. 11 - 2019 Num. article: 2019/223

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) occurs in Monaco. It was first observed in August 2019 on Jasminum azoricum (van der Heyden, 2019). Present, no details.


Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifolia’ (EU Annexes) was detected in symptomatic alfalfa plants (Medicago sativa) in Iraq (Al-Kuwaiti et al., 2019). Present, no details.


In Morocco, during a survey conducted in 2018, Little cherry virus 1 (Velarivirus, LChV-1 – EU Annexes) was detected in 2 samples which had been collected from asymptomatic apricot (Prunus armeniaca) trees. This first record in Morocco is also a first record for Africa (Tahzima et al., 2019). Present, only in some areas.


In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae - EPPO A2 List) was reported for the first time in 2019, in the municipalities of Čapljine and Neuma on Phoenix canariensis. The surveys conducted in the western part of the country did not detect the pest (Ostojić et al., 2019). Present, only in some areas.


In New Zealand, the causal agent of rust on blueberries was determined by molecular and morphological analyses as Pucciniastrum minimum (=Thekopsora minima - EPPO A2 List) rather than Naohidemyces vacciniorum as first reported in 2004 (Padamsee & McKenzie, 2019). Present, no details.


In Uruguay, Leptoglossus occidentalis (Heteroptera: Coreidae) was reported for the first time in 2017. It was found in several localities (Punta del Este, Montevideo, Canelones, El Pinar) in the Southern part of the country (Faúndez & Silvera, 2019).



  • Detailed records

In Hawaii (US), Dickeya dianthicola (EPPO A2 List) was detected for the first time in January 2018 in potato (Solanum tuberosum) plants showing symptoms of bacterial soft rot. Infected plants had been collected from a potato field on Oahu (Boluk & Arif, 2019).


In the USA, Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae - EPPO A1 List) was first found in Cecil County in Maryland in October 2018 and subsequent findings occurred in northeast Maryland. In October 2019, a quarantine area was established in Cecil and Harford counties (NAPPO, 2019).



  • Eradication

In Australia, after successful eradication campaigns, citrus canker (Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri – EPPO A1 List) was detected again in 2018 in the Northern Territory and Western Australia (EPPO RS 2018/101). Eradication measures were immediately applied, and a surveillance programme was implemented. In November 2019, after completion of these activities, citrus canker was declared absent from all Australian states and territories, except the Northern Territory where eradication measures continue to be applied (IPPC, 2019).

The pest status of Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri in Australia is officially declared as: Present: under eradication - Northern Territory. Absent: pest eradicated - Western Australia, Queensland. Absent: no pest record - New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia.



  • Host plants

In November 2018, Meloidogyne graminicola (EPPO Alert List) was found infecting Allium tuberosum (Chinese chives) in several commercial fields in Xianyou county, Fujian province, China. Disease incidence ranged from 60 to 100%. Affected plants displayed leaf yellowing and desiccation; their roots presented elongated swellings throughout the root system (Chen et al., 2019).


In Florida (US), Plasmopara halstedii has recently been detected on the ornamental plant Ageratum houstonianum (Asteraceae). In 2016 and again in 2018, typical symptoms of downy mildew were observed in a production site for cut flowers. Symptoms included foliar lesions with a grey mycelial growth on the leaf undersides. Girdling brown lesions were observed on petioles and stems, leading to whole leaf dieback and stem necrosis. The identity of the fungus was confirmed by morphological, molecular, and pathogenicity tests (Pisani et al., 2019).



  • Regulations

The EU Commission has established emergency measures to prevent the introduction into, and the spread within the EU of Rose rosette emaravirus (RRV- EPPO A1 List) and its vector Phyllocoptes fructiphilus (EPPO A1 List). This Decision will apply from 1 November 2019 until 31 March 2022 (EU, 2019).



Sources

Al-Kuwaiti N, Kareem T, Sadaq FH, AL-Aadhami LH (2019) First report of phytoplasma detection on sand olive, cowpea and alfalfa in Iraq. Journal of Plant Protection Research 59(3), 428-431. https://doi.org/10.24425/jppr.2019.129744

Boluk G, Arif M (2019) First report of Dickeya dianthicola as a causal agent of bacterial soft rot of potato in Hawaii. Plant Disease 103(11), p 2943.

Chen JW, Chen SY, Ning XL, Shi CH, Cheng X, Xiao S, Liu GK (2019) First report of Meloidogyne graminicola infecting Chinese chive in China. Plant Disease 103(11), p 2967.

EU (2019) Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/1739 of 16 October 2019 establishing emergency measures to prevent the introduction into and the spread within the Union of Rose rosette virus. OJ L 265, 12–15. http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2019/1739/oj

Faúndez EI, Silvera M (2019) [On the presence of the Western conifer seed bug Leptoglossus occidentalis Heidemann (Heteroptera: Coreidae) in Uruguay]. Revista Chilena de Entomología 45(4), 549-551 (in Spanish).

IPPC website. Official Pest Reports – Australia (AUS-95/3 of 2019-11-22) Xanthomonas citri subsp citri (citrus canker) – 2018 detection update. https://www.ippc.int/en/countries/australia/pestreports/2019/11/xanthomonas-citri-subsp-citri-citrus-canker-2018-detection-update/

NAPPO Phytosanitary Alert System. Official Pest Reports. USA (2019-08-23) Lycorma delicatula (Spotted lanternfly): APHIS provides an update on activities. https://www.pestalerts.org/official-pest-report/lycorma-delicatula-spotted-lanternfly-aphis-provides-update-activities

Ostojić I, Zovko M, Kohnić A, Petrović D, Jurković D, Bošnjak L (2019) First report of the red palm weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier, 1790) in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Works of Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences 64(69), 46-58. https://ppf.unsa.ba/casopis/Radovi%202019,%2068.pdf

Padamsee M, McKenzie EHC (2019) Pucciniastrum minimum is the causal agent of rust on blueberries in New Zealand. Australasian Plant Disease Notes 14, 27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13314-019-0358-1

Pisani C, Patel PC, Rosskopf EN, Abbasi M, Aime MC (2019) First report of downy mildew caused by Plasmopara halstedii on Ageratum houstonianum in the United States. Plant Disease 103(11), p 2968.

Tahzima R, Qessaoui R, Foucart Y, Massart S, De Jonghe K (2019) First report of little cherry virus 1 infecting apricot (Prunus armeniaca) in Morocco. Plant Disease 103(11), p 2975.

van der Heyden T (2019) First record of Corythauma ayyari (Drake) (Heteroptera: Tingidae) in Monaco. Revista Chilena de Entomoloa 45(4), 579-581.