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
Citrus tristeza virus (Closterovirus – EPPO A2 List) is reported for the first time from Laos (Donovan et al., 2021). Present.
In the Philippines, symptoms caused by cucurbit chlorotic yellows virus (Crinivirus – an emerging virus transmitted by Bemisia tabaci) were first observed in April 2018 on cucurbit crops in Luzon. The identity of the virus was then confirmed in symptomatic samples of Cucumis melo (melon), Citrullus lanatus (watermelon) and wild plants of Cucumis agrestis growing in the affected melon field (Chang et al., 2021).
Diaphorina citri (vector of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ - Hemiptera: Liviidae, EPPO A1 List) was first detected in French Guiana in July 2021, in the city of Cayenne. Surveys are being conducted in a zone with a radius of 2 km to assess the extent of the outbreak (Plateforme ESV, 2021). Present, not widely distributed and under official control.
In Israel, lettuce chlorosis virus (Crinivirus – LCV – formerly EPPO Alert List) was detected during a survey conducted in 2017-2019 in 4 farms authorized to produce cannabis (Cannabis sativa). Affected plants showed conspicuous symptoms of leaf yellowing, chlorotic and necrotic old leaves, but with no apparent symptoms on the apical leaves. This is also the first time that LCV is reported on cannabis (Hadad et al., 2019).
In Syria, symptoms resembling those of tomato brown rugose fruit virus (Tobamovirus, ToBRFV – EPPO A2 List) were first observed in 2017 in tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum) grown in a greenhouse in the Akkar plain (coastal region, Tartous governorate). The disease carried on spreading in the following years. The identity of the virus was confirmed as ToBRFV in symptomatic plants from the governorates of Tartous and Lattakia collected in November and December 2020 (Hasan et al., 2021). Present.
Xylosandrus compactus (Coleoptera, Scolytinae, formerly EPPO Alert List) is first reported from Lebanon: this bark beetle was found on Quercus calliprinos in November 2017, and again in 2019 and 2020 (Moussa et al., 2021).
- Detailed records
In China, the poplar rust caused by Melampsora medusae (EPPO A2 List) was first recorded in 2019 in Henan, Shaanxi, and Sichuan (RS 2019/142). Zhou et al. (2020) also identified the pathogen on Populus deltoides in the provinces of Jiangsu and Hubei.
In China, tomato brown rugose fruit virus (Tobamovirus, ToBRFV – EPPO A2 List) is first reported from Yunnan Province. It was found during a survey on tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum) in Yuanmou County in October 2020 (Ma et al., 2021).
In France, tomato brown rugose fruit virus (Tobamovirus, ToBRFV – EPPO A2 List) had been eradicated from Bretagne region (Northwest France) in June 2021. It was found again in July 2021 in Southern France (Lot-et-Garonne department, region Nouvelle-Aquitaine) in a commercial greenhouse producing tomato fruit (Solanum lycopersicum). Eradication measures are being applied (NPPO of France, 2021).
The pest status of tomato brown rugose fruit virus in France is officially declared as: Transient, actionable, under eradication.
In Slovakia, Trichoferus campestris (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae – EPPO A2 List) was found in a trap in the municipality of Hriadky (Košice Region) (NPPO of Slovakia).
The pest status of Trichoferus campestris in Slovakia is officially declared: Present, only in some parts of the Member State concerned, at low prevalence.
- Eradication
In France, Batrachedra enormis (Lepidoptera: Batrachedridae) was first found in 2016 in a private garden located in Var department (EPPO RS 2017/038). The infested plants were destroyed and the NPPO of France now considers this outbreak eradicated (NPPO of France, 2021-07).
- Host plants
In Brazil, lettuce chlorosis virus (Crinivirus – LCV – formerly EPPO Alert List) was detected in 2 samples of Passiflora spp. (1 Passiflora auriculata and 1 P. alata) collected in 2017 from a germplasm collection in Brasília (Distrito Federal). LCV was also detected in a sample of P. edulis collected from a commercial field in Bahia state (Vidal et al., 2021).
In China (Yunnan province), tomato mottle mosaic virus (Tobamovirus, ToMMV – EPPO Alert List) was detected in symptomatic plants of green pea (Pisum sativum) in 2020. This is the first report of natural infection of ToMMV in a non-solanaceous plant (Zhang et al., 2021).
Sources
Donovan NJ, Englezou A, Chambers GA, Phanthavong S, Daly A, Saleh F, Holford P, Burgess LW (2021) First report of citrus tristeza virus in Lao PDR. Australasian Plant Pathology (abst.). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13313-021-00818-9
Hadad L, Luria N, Smith E, Sela N, Lachman O, Dombrovsky A (2019) Lettuce chlorosis virus disease: A new threat to cannabis production. Viruses 11(9), 802. https://doi.org/10.3390/v11090802
Hasan ZM, Salem NM, Ismail ID, Akel I, Ahmad AY (2021) First report of tomato brown rugose fruit virus on tomato in Syria. Plant Disease (early view). https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-07-21-1356-PDN
Ma Z, Zhang H, Ding M, Zhang Z, Yang X, Zhou X (2021) Molecular characterization and pathogenicity of an infectious cDNA clone of tomato brown rugose fruit virus. Phytopathology Research 3(14), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42483-021-00091-0
Moussa Z, Choueiri E, Hanna A (2021) New invasive insects associated with oak forests in Lebanon. Arab Journal of Plant Protection 39(2), 164-172. https://doi.org/10.22268/AJPP-039.2.164172
NPPO of France (2021-07, 2021-08).
NPPO of Slovakia (2021-09).
Plateforme ESV (2021) Bulletin Hebdomadaire de Veille Sanitaire Internationale en Santé Végétale. BHV-SV 2021/35. Available at https://plateforme-esv.fr/sites/default/files/2021-09/BH_semaine35_avec_commPrefetGuyaneDCitri.pdf
Vidal AH, Felix GP, Abreu EFM, Nogueira I, Alves-Freitas DMT, Faleiro FG, Fontenele RS, Peixoto JR, Lacorte C, Rosa PCC, Nunes de Jesus O, Resende RO, Varsani A, Ribeiro SG (2021) Occurrence of lettuce chlorosis virus in Passiflora spp. in Brazil. Journal of Plant Pathology 103, 443–447.
Zhang S, Tan G, Li F (2021) First report of pea as a natural host of tomato mottle mosaic virus in China. Plant Disease. Early view. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-02-21-0280-PDN
Zhou Y, Dai M, Dai X, Li S, Yi T, Li X (2020) Isolation and primary identification of leaf rust on black cottonwood (Populus deltoides) at the South of China. Molecular Pathogens 11(2), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.5376/mp.2020.11.0002