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
'Candidatus Phytoplasma mali' (associated with apple proliferation, EPPO A2 List), and 'Candidatus Phytoplasma pyri’ (associated with pear decline - EPPO A2 List) are first reported from Luxembourg. Surveys were conducted in April to July 2024 in six sites. Apple trees tested positive for ‘Ca. P. mali’ at three sites (Bech, Bettembourg, Mensdorf) and pear trees tested positive for ‘Ca. P. pyri’ at two sites (Bech, Manternach). The authors consider that both phytoplasmas are probably widespread in the country (Weigand et al., 2025). Present, widely distributed.
Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Liviidae, EPPO A1 List), one of the vectors of huanglongbing, is first reported from Fiji. A survey was conducted in the Koronivia area and detected D. citri. The identity of the pest was confirmed by morphological and molecular tests. The pest is present in Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. Huanglongbing disease was not detected (IPPC, 2025).
The pest status of Diaphorina citri in Fiji is officially declared as: Present: transient.
In French Guyana, after the finding of Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Liviidae, EPPO A1 List) in July 2021 (EPPO RS 2021/185), further surveys detected a ‘Candidatus Liberibacter sp.’ in two plant samples in August 2021 (RS 2021/207). Further surveys were conducted in 2022-2024 and 40 plant samples tested positive for Liberibacter sp. although it was not possible to identify the species. In November 2024, a field survey was conducted and 'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus' (EPPO A1 List) was detected in one sample from a citrus tree growing in a private courtyard in Kourou municipality (Cellier et al., 2025). Present, not widely distributed and not under official control.
Pseudococcus comstocki (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae - formerly A2 EPPO List) is first recorded outdoors from Hungary. During surveys conducted in 2020-2021 with pheromone traps placed along the highway network, male P. comstocki were caught in seven traps in six localities. This currently represents the northernmost outdoor distribution data of P. comstocki in Europe (Szita et al., 2025). Present, not widely distributed and not under official control.
In Vietnam, three Tetranychus species (Acari: Tetranychidae) are reported for the first time. Tetranychus evansi (EPPO A2 List), Tetranychus pueraricola and Tetranychus gloveri were recorded during a study on populations of thrips and spider mites conducted between 2021 and 2023 in the Red River Delta subregion of Northern Vietnam. The identity of the pests was confirmed by molecular testing. Present.
Tetranychus evansi (Acari: Tetranychidae - EPPO A2 List) is first reported from Mexico. It was observed in 2020 and 2023 in four municipalities in three states (Baja California, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas), on solanaceous plants: tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and potato (S. tuberosum) crops, and wild plants (S. cf. americanum and S. nigrescens) (Monjarás et al., 2024). Present, not widely distributed.
Tomato mottle mosaic virus (Tobamovirus maculatessellati, ToMMV – formerly EPPO Alert List) is first reported in Indonesia. It was found for the first time in November 2023 in Java Province. During monitoring of diseases on tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum) in fields and greenhouses in Kediri and Malang districts, ToMMV was found on plants showing mosaic, yellowing and leaf curling. The identity of the pest was confirmed by molecular testing. Present, not widely distributed.
- Detailed records
Atherigona orientalis (Diptera: Muscidae - EPPO Alert List) is reported from Hunan (China). It was detected infesting fruits of several species during surveys in 2020-2022 in all 14 prefectural and municipal cities of Hunan. Zhou et al. (2025) also mentions the presence of A. orientalis in the provinces of Fujian and Ningxia for which the EPPO Secretariat had no previous records. During the same study, other fruit flies were also found, including Bactrocera latifrons (EPPO A1 List) for which the EPPO Secretariat had no record for Hunan province. Present.
In Brazil Ceratobasidium theobromae (syn. Rhizoctonia theobromae) causing cassava witch's broom was first recorded in the state of Amapá in 2023 (EPPO RS 2025/048). In 2025, it was first recorded in the state of Pará on cassava. Official emergency measures are applied in Amapá and Pará (Embrapa, 2025). Present, not widely distributed and under official control.
In India cucurbit yellow stunting disorder virus (Crinivirus cucurbitae, CYSDV - EPPO A2 List) is first reported from Rajasthan on Indian round melon (Benincasa fistulosa) and wild melon (Cucumis callosus) (Kumar et al., 2025). It was also first detected in Southern India, in Tamil Nadu, during a survey in November 2023 to July 2024, on new hosts: ridge gourd (Luffa acutangula), snake gourd (Trichosanthes cucumerina) and bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) (Bharath et al., 2025). These reports increase both the geographical range and the host range of CYSDV. Present, not widely distributed and under official control.
Grapevine phylloxera Daktulosphaira vitifoliae (Hemiptera: Phylloxeridae - EPPO A2 List) is first reported from Islas Canarias (Spain). It was detected in August 2025 in Tenerife Island in a private garden and an area of partially abandoned land in La Laguna. Official measures are being applied to eradicate the outbreak (Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación, 2025). Present, not widely distributed and under official control.
In Italy, the pine tortoise scale Toumeyella parvicornis (Hemiptera: Coccidae – EPPO A2 List) was found again in Abruzzo region on stone pines (Pinus pinea). It was discovered in July and August 2025 in Chieti province (mild infestation in a private garden on P. pinea in San Giovanni Teatino municipality and a severe infestation in a public site in Chieti municipality in August 2025). Phytosanitary measures have been applied including the establishment of a buffer zone of 5 km around the infested areas and enhanced surveys and official actions in line with the Regional Emergency Plan.
The pest status of Toumeyella parvicornis in Italy is officially declared as: Present, only in some parts of the Member State concerned, under containment, in case eradication is impossible.
In Oklahoma (US), Xylella fastidiosa subsp. multiplex (EPPO A2 List) was detected for the first time in 2024 on American elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) plants showing mild to severe leaf scorch symptoms grown in Oklahoma State University. The identity of the pest was confirmed by molecular testing. Present.
- New host plants
In Shandong Province, China, tomato brown fruit rugose virus (Tobamovirus fructirugosum – ToBRFV - EPPO A2 List) was found infecting mile-a-minute Persicaria perfoliata (Polygonaceae: EPPO A2 List) exhibiting leaf chlorosis symptoms grown in a greenhouse in May 2024. This is the first report of ToBRFV natural infection in P. perfoliata.
Sources
Bharath BS, Nagendran K, Harish S, Karthikeyan G (2025) First report of cucurbit yellow stunting disorder virus causing yellowing disease on major gourds in India. Crop Protection 187, 106998. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2024.106998
Cellier G, Demade-Pellorce L, Chourrot A, Chou Ket Kime S, Lau Txia Neng K, Thomas A, Moreau A, Gustin L, Chabirand A, Macambou A, Hierso D, Durand S, Laplace D, Donato D, Lavergne A, Douaré F, Duperier S, Ravigné V, Ouvrard D (2025) First report of Diaphorina citri and ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ associated with the Huanglongbing disease on Citrus spp. in French Guiana. Plant Disease (early view) https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-02-25-0330-PDN.
Embrapa (2025-07-07) Embrapa e ministérios montam estratégias para enfrentar vassoura-de-bruxa da mandioca no Amapá e Pará. https://www.embrapa.br/busca-de-noticias/-/noticia/101704837/embrapa-e-ministerios-montam-estrategias-para-enfrentar-vassoura-de-bruxa-da-mandioca-no-amapa-e-para
IPPC website. Official Pest Reports- Fiji (2025-09-22): Asian Citrus Psyllid - Diaphorina citri. https://www.ippc.int/fr/countries/fiji/pestreports/2025/09/asian-citrus-psyllid/
Jibrin MO, Olson J, Andrade Y, Chen J (2025) First report of Xylella fastidiosa subsp. multiplex associated with bacterial leaf scorch on American elderberry (Sambucus canadensis L.) in Oklahoma. Plant Disease (early view) https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-03-25-0590-PDN
Kumar A, Choudhary S, Ramyashee DG, Baranwal VK, Jain RK, Basavaraj YB (2025) Molecular evidence for the occurrence of cucurbit yellow stunting disorder virus (CYSDV) infecting round melon and wild melon in India. VirusDisease 36(1), 93-96.
Kwak HR, Byun HS, Lee B, Yu J (2025) First report of tomato mottle mosaic virus infecting tomato in Indonesia. Plant Disease (early view) https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-06-25-1177-PDN
Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación (2025) Orden APA/959/2025, de 29 de agosto, por la que se adoptan medidas fitosanitarias de salvaguardia en relación con la Daktulosphaira vitifoliae Fitch (Filoxera de la Vid), en las Islas Canarias. Boletín Oficial Del Estado 209, Sec. III, 115595. https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2025/08/30/pdfs/BOE-A-2025-17386.pdf
Mocchetti A, Nikoloudi AA, Phuong TT, Jonckheere W, Nguyen DT, De Clercq P, Van Leeuwen T (2025) Geographical distribution and incidence of pesticide resistance mutations in spider mite and thrips species from North Vietnam. Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology 14, 106634
Monjarás-Barrera JI, Sanchez-Peña SR (2024) First record of the tomato red spider mite, Tetranychus evansi Baker and Pritchard (Acari: Tetranychidae) in Mexico, from cultivated and wild solanaceous plants. Acarologia 64(1), 164-171. ttps://doi.org/10.24349/78jc-6nev
NPPO of Italy (2025-08).
Szita É, Gerő K, Simon J, Kaydan MB (2025) Integrative method to detect invasive mealybug (Hemiptera, Coccomorpha, Pseudococcidae) species on highways in Hungary: evidence for northward spread of Comstock mealybug. Biodiversity Data Journal 13, e163732. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.13.e163732
Wang D, Wu Y, Cao Y, Yan Y, Ding T, Tian Y, Rao S, Li J, Song X (2025) First report of mile-a-minute (Persicaria perfoliata L.) as a natural host of tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV). Plant Disease (early view) https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-12-24-2662-PDN
Weigand A, Rapisarda C, Kharrat‐Jarboui I, Ripamonti M (2025) First detection of apple proliferation and pear decline phytoplasmas in Luxembourg. EPPO Bulletin 55(2), 320-327. https://doi.org/10.1111/epp.70004
Zhou Z, Luo Y, Qin J, Wang X, Ning S, He J, Zhou Q (2025) Occurrence, biological characteristics, and annual dynamics of Atherigona orientalis (Schiner 1968)(Diptera: Muscidae) in China. Insects 16(9), 931. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects16090931