Potato spindle tuber viroid no longer occurs in New Zealand
In New Zealand, Potato spindle tuber viroid (Pospiviroid, PSTVd - EPPO A2 List) has been detected on a few occasions (EPPO RS 2001/061, 2003/041) but in all cases eradication measures have been taken. PSTVd was detected for the first time in 2000 in glasshouse tomatoes. A subsequent delimiting survey of 50 tomato glasshouses in 2001 found PSTVd at two additional sites in South Auckland and one in Nelson. PSTVd was then also reported on capsicum samples collected from a commercial glasshouse in Auckland. Since these surveys, there was only one additional report of PSTVd in glasshouse tomatoes from Taupo in 2008, and infected plant material was destroyed. In 2009, PSTVd was found in Physalis peruviana (Cape gooseberry plants grown from imported seeds at a domestic property) and Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco) plants in Christchurch and Auckland respectively; for both species, all infected plants and seeds were destroyed. There have been no further detections of PSTVd since 2009. Therefore, Biosecurity New Zealand considers that PSTVd is now absent from the country.
The pest status of Potato spindle tuber viroid in New Zealand is officially declared as: Absent, formerly present.
Sources
Biosecurity New Zealand (2019-10).