First official report of Meloidogyne chitwoodi in Madeira (Portugal)
The NPPO of Portugal recently informed the EPPO Secretariat of the first official report of the root knot nematode Meloidogyne chitwoodi (EPPO A2 List) on its territory.
Within the framework of the official survey programme for Meloidogyne species implemented since 2019, the presence of M. chitwoodi was suspected in February 2023 and confirmed after root sampling in June 2023 in the municipality of Calheta on Madeira island. This is the first official confirmation of the presence of M. chitwoodi in Portugal. Records about the presence of the pest in Madeira island had been published but were never officially confirmed. The current detection occurred in a small plot (2000 m²) of ware potato (Solanum tuberosum). In the infested plot, a 3-year eradication program has been implemented: it includes black fallow in the first year and cultivation of non-host plants (to be harvested only at above ground parts) in the following two years, as well as a requirement to clean and disinfect the machinery and equipment used in the plot to prevent spread of the pest with soil residues. The specific survey in adjacent fields will be intensified and the infested plot will be sampled every year.
The pest status of Meloidogyne chitwoodi in Portugal is officially declared as: Present, only in some parts of the Member State concerned, under eradication.
Sources
NPPO of Portugal (2023-08).
Borges PAV, Abreu C, Aguiar AMF et al. (eds) (2008) A list of the terrestrial fungi, flora and fauna of Madeira and Selvagens archipelagos. Direccao Regional do Ambiente da Madeira, Angra do Heroismo, Madeira, Portugal, 440 pp. http://www.azoresbioportal.angra.uac.pt/files/publicacoes_Listagem%20dMadeira%20e%20Selvagens.pdf