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 8.
- New records
Erysiphe corylacearum is reported for the first time from Poland. The fungus was first observed during summer 2018 on Corylus avellana in Lublin, and its identity was confirmed by morphological and molecular methods (Świderska and Wdowiak-Wróbel, 2023).
Xylosandrus compactus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae - formerly EPPO Alert List) is reported for the first time from Guatemala. In 2023, the pest was found causing damage in nurseries producing mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) plants. in the municipality of San Francisco (Petén department) (Equihua-Martínez et al., 2024).
Xylosandrus compactus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae - formerly EPPO Alert List) is reported for the first time from Russia. In 2023 and 2024, the pest was found in the city of Sochi on several ornamental trees (Laurus nobilis, Magnolia grandiflora, Prunus laurocerasus) (Karpun et al., 2024).
Xylosandrus crassiusculus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae - formerly EPPO Alert List) is reported for the first time from Russia. It was found in June 2011 near Zheleznovodsk town (Stavropol region) on a fallen beech (Fagus sp.) tree (Karpun et al., 2024).
- Detailed records
In the USA, Aproceros leucopoda (Hymenoptera: Argidae, zigzag elm sawfly – formerly EPPO Alert List) was first found in 2021 in Virginia and subsequently in other US states (Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Maryland, New York). In 2024, it was first observed in Minnesota. A. leucopoda was initially noticed by a citizen, and the identity of the insect was later confirmed by the Smithonian Institute Museum of Natural History (Minnesota Department of Agriculture, 2024).
In the USA, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lactucae (formerly EPPO Alert List) was first found in North Carolina in August 2023. The fungus was detected in a commercial glasshouse of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) in Orange county (McGehee, 2024).
In Italy, Singhiella simplex (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae – formerly EPPO Alert List) has been reported in Calabria, Sardegna and Sicilia since 2019. In February 2024, it was found for the first time in Lombardia region. The whitefly was observed causing severe defoliation on Ficus spp. in a tropical greenhouse and inside a private house in Vertemate con Minoprio and Monza, respectively. The presence of Encarsia hispida (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) parasitizing S. simplex was also observed (Zugno et al., 2024).
In China, Sphaerulina musiva (Davidiella populorum – EPPO A1 List) was first observed in 2023 in the province of Henan (EPPO RS 2024/041). Other recent studies confirmed that the leaf spot symptoms observed in June 2023 in several cultivars of Populus x canadensis (P. x euramericana) in Henan and Jiangsu provinces were caused by S. musiva. In the two studied poplar plantations in Jiangsu (Nanjing Baguazhou Wetland Park) and Henan (Liyuan Village in Nanyang City), severe symptoms were observed and the disease incidence reached 97% and 98%, respectively. It is considered that S. musiva could present a serious threat to P. x canadensis which is widely planted in China for forestry purposes (Xiong et al., 2024).
In the USA, watermelon crinkle leaf-associated virus-2 (Coguvirus henanense, WCLaV-2 – EPPO Alert List) is reported for the first time in Georgia. The virus was detected in symptomatic watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) plants grown in experimental (University of Georgia, Tifton) and commercial (Colquitt county) fields. The foliage of affected plants showed yellow mottling and chlorosis, wrinkling, bunching, and upward curling. In addition, mixed infections with watermelon crinkle leaf-associated virus-1 (Coguvirus citrulli,
WCLaV-1 – EPPO Alert List) were detected in samples from Colquitt county (Kavalappara et al., 2024).
In Brazil, Xylosandrus compactus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae - formerly EPPO Alert List) is reported from Pernambuco causing damage on Khaya senegalensis (African mahogany) plantations (Gonçalves et al., 2023).
- Host plants
‘Candidatus Phytoplasma fragariae’ (EU RNQP) has been detected in potato plants showing purple top symptoms and producing tubers with hairy sprouts. These symptomatic plants had been collected from Kufri, Himachal Pradesh, India (Sagar et al., 2020).
- New pests and taxonomy
In China, a novel disease similar to pear fire blight was found in a pear orchard in Gansu province. The pathogen was identified as a new species temporarily named Erwinia pyri sp. nov. Koch’s postulates were verified on Pyrus pyrifolia var. sinensis, P. ussuriensis, and P. bretschneideri (He et al., 2024).
Taxonomic studies have recently been conducted to clarify species delineation within the Oligonychus punicae complex (O. punicae, O. mangiferus and O. vitis) (Acari: Tetranychidae). Based on morphological and molecular data, it was concluded that both O. mangiferus and O. vitis are junior synonyms of O. punicae (Mushtaq et al., 2023).
Sources
Equihua-Martínez A, Estrada-Venegas EG, Ochaeta JF (2024) First record of Xylosandrus compactus (Eichhoff) 1875 (Curculionidae: Scolytinae) in Guatemala. International Journal of Life Science and Agriculture Research 3(8), 700-703.
Gonçalves MD, Carvalho AG, Marques EN, Gallo R, Hakamada RE, Santos JM, Souza MM, Santos LP (2023) First record of Xylosandrus compactus in seedlings and plantations of African mahogany (Khaya senegalensis) in Northeastern Brazil. Floresta e Ambiente 30(3), e20230024. https://doi.org/10.1590/2179-8087-FLORAM-2023-0024
He L, Huang R, Chen H, Zhao L, Zhang Z (2024) Discovery and characterization of a novel pathogen Erwinia pyri sp. nov. associated with pear dieback: taxonomic insights and genomic analysis. Frontiers in Microbiology 15, 1365685. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1365685
Karpun NN, Petrov AV, Zhuravleva EN, Shoshina EI, Kirichenko NI, Mandelshtam MY, Musolin DL (2024) Two invasive bark beetles Phloeosinus armatus Reitter and Xylosandrus compactus (Eichhoff)(Coleoptera, Curculionidae: Scolytinae) newly recorded in Russia. EPPO Bulletin 54(2), 166-181. https://doi.org/10.1111/epp.13019
Kavalappara SR, Acharya N, Suarez E, McAvoy T, Bag S (2024) First report of watermelon crinkle leaf-associated virus-2 (WCLaV-2) in watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) in Georgia, USA. Plant Disease 108(7), 2246. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-01-24-0161-PDN
McGehee CS (2024) First report of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lactucae causing wilt on greenhouse-grown lettuce in North Carolina. Plant Disease 108(early view). https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-02-24-0364-PDN
Minnesota Department of Agriculture (2024-07-06) Invasive insect elm zigzag sawfly found for the first time in Minnesota. https://www.mda.state.mn.us/invasive-insect-elm-zigzag-sawfly-found-first-time-minnesota
Mushtaq HMS, Kamran M, Saleh AA, Alatawi FJ (2023) Evidence for reconsidering the taxonomic status of closely related Oligonychus species in punicae complex (Acari: Prostigmata: Tetranychidae). Insects 14(1), 3. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects14010003
Sagar V, Sharma S, Kumar R, Kaundal P, Sundaresha S, Sharma U (2020) First report of Candidatus Phytoplasma fragariae associated with purple top, tubers' hairy sprouts and Candidatus Phytoplasma ziziphi with inward rolling of leaves of potato in India. Abstract of a paper presented at the 'Global Potato Conclave (Gandhinagar, India, 2020-01-28/31), p 118.
Świderska U, Wdowiak-Wróbel S (2023) First report of Erysiphe corylacearum on Corylus avellana in Poland. Acta Mycologica 58, 177131. https://doi.org/10.5586/am/177131
Xiong Q, Wang X, Li J, Zhai X, Ma T, Ni S, Cui L (2024) Outbreak of Septoria leaf spot caused by Sphaerulina musiva on Populus × euramericana in China. Plant Disease 108(7), 2222. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-10-23-2206-PDN
Zugno M, Tapparo A, Colombini M, Galimberti G, Sacchi S, Siena F, Cavagna B, Ciampitti M, Giordano L (2024) First report of the ficus whitefly Singhiella simplex (Singh, 1931) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) in Northern Italy and first observation of its association with the parasitoid wasp Encarsia hispida De Santis, 1948 (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) in Europe. EPPO Bulletin 54(2), 182-188. https://doi.org/10.1111/epp.13015