The Panel on Plant Health conducted a pest risk assessment for Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) including the identification and evaluation of risk reduction options. The plants for planting pathway ...is considered the most important one and rated as likely, with medium uncertainty. TSWV, reported in many Member States, has one of the widest host range for plant viruses and has three widely distributed thrips vector species in the risk assessment area. For countries falling under the provisions of 2000/29/EC Annex IIAII legislation, the probability of establishment is rated as very likely, with low uncertainty. For Finland and Sweden, protected zone under the 2000/29/EC Annex IB legislation, the probability of establishment is rated unlikely to moderately likely. Spread can occur through the activity of thrips vectors and through trade of infected hosts. The probability of spread in Member States under Annex IIAII provisions is evaluated as likely, with low uncertainty. In Finland and Sweden, spread is rated as unlikely to moderately likely, with medium uncertainty. Since TSWV may cause both yield and quality losses in a wide range of hosts, a major impact is predictable in the absence of appropriate control measures, with medium uncertainty. The risk reduction options evaluated by the Panel are those addressing either the sanitary status of the propagation material (including the provisions of 2000/29/EC Annex IIAII and Annex IB, statutory certification system and the use of voluntary industry standards) or those addressing the control of TSWV epidemic development through actions directed at the virus or at its vectors (including cultural methods to reduce crop infestation and chemical or biological control of thrips vectors). Limitations of the current measures and the potential consequences of repealing the current legislation are discussed.
The Panel on Plant Health conducted a pest risk assessment for Chrysanthemum stunt viroid (CSVd) and identified and evaluated risk reduction options, particularly those listed in Council Directive ...2000/29/EC. Three entry pathways were identified, with plants for planting being the most important and rated as moderately likely. CSVd is recorded in some EU Member States with a limited distribution and is regulated on chrysanthemum; host plants are widely cultivated in greenhouses and outdoors. Therefore, establishment is very likely. Short‐distance spread within a crop is likely, whereas short‐distance spread between different species is unlikely to moderately likely. For vegetatively propagated species, in the absence of an efficient certification system, long‐distance spread is very likely and a major impact would be expected on chrysanthemum, with associated yield and quality losses. However, under the existing certification scheme for chrysanthemum plant propagation material, the probability of spread through infected cuttings is largely reduced and the direct consequences of viroid outbreaks are expected to be minor. Minimal impact is predicted for other ornamental hosts and a minor impact for solanaceous vegetable crops. The indirect effects of CSVd are considered to be limited, with the exception of eradication. Risk reduction options addressing the sanitary status of the propagation material are likely to be the most effective and feasible. These include the current EU measures, as well as a statutory certification system with associated statutory import requirements or, failing that, but potentially less effective, the use of voluntary industry standards. It is difficult to disentangle the benefits of the current legislation from those of the industry‐developed chrysanthemum certification system. The high efficacy of current measures is supported by the absence or limited presence of CSVd in the EU and by the limited number of interceptions and findings. Possible improvements to current measures are described and uncertainties discussed.
The EFSA Panel on Plant Health conducted a pest risk assessment for Dickeya dianthicola for the EU territory under the scenario of current EU plant health legislation and identified and evaluated ...risk reduction options. The probability of entry was considered low for carnation cuttings and mother plants because association of D. dianthicola with carnation is rare nowadays. Probability of entry was considered higher for other host plants for planting that are not subject to statutory control. However, this pathogen already occurs in these crops in the EU, and its transfer from them to carnation is unlikely. The probability of establishment is high in the open field but low in protected crops. The probability of spread is moderate in the open field but low in protected crops. Under current phytosanitary measures, but with voluntary certification and sanitation practices in place, consequences for carnation are minimal since no carnation crop losses have been reported in the last 25 years. The risk reduction options with best effectiveness and feasibility are those addressing the sanitary status of the propagation material. However, although the prevalence of D. dianthicola on carnation is low at present, current EU measures appear to have some potential weaknesses, particularly because of lack of details on the testing of mother plants. If the current regulation were to be removed, no major consequences or changes in the potential impact of D. dianthicola are expected provided the current general hygiene practices applied in the European voluntary certification schemes are maintained. If, on the other hand, the current legislation were removed and a voluntary certification scheme was not maintained, contamination of carnation crops by D. dianthicola is expected, with ensuing detrimental effects. Additional risk reduction options to reduce the probability of entry, establishment, spread and impact were identified. Uncertainties on the assessment are discussed.
The Panel on Plant Health conducted a pest risk assessment for Phialophora cinerescens (Wollenweber) van Beyma (the causal agent of Phialophora carnation wilt) for the EU territory, identified risk ...management options and evaluated their effectiveness. The risk assessment was conducted taking into account current EU legislation. The Panel also provided an opinion on the effectiveness of the present EU requirements against this organism, listed in Council Directive 2000/29/EC. Four pathways for entry were identified. Plants for propagation (rooted and unrooted cuttings of host plants) were considered as a major pathway. Entry via this pathway was rated as unlikely because of the effective disease prevention techniques for cuttings now in place in places of production. P. cinerescens has been found in most Member States but with few occurrences or restricted distribution. In some Member States the pest was eradicated. Owing to current cultural practices and control measures, establishment in areas in which the pest was not previously present is considered very unlikely. For the same reasons, the probability of infection of crops is strongly reduced and hence the probability of spread to areas where the pest was not previously present is very unlikely. Similarly, the impact on carnation is at the moment minimal and unlikely to increase in the future. Risk reduction options to reduce the probability of entry and spread and mitigate the impact were evaluated; those addressing the phytosanitary status of the propagation material were considered to be the most effective and feasible (e.g., the officially accepted carnation certification system for source planting material), including the current regulations laid down in Council Directive 2000/29/EC. If the current regulation were removed, a certification system could be just as effective as the existing regulation, provided it included practically all the prescriptions of the present regulation.
Abstract
An overview is presented of all plant parasitic and soil inhabiting nematodes
found in Slovenia. Most of the nearly 50 records, representing 115 nematode
genera and 112 different species, ...have been published in national journals
or technical reports and are therefore not directly available. These records
include plant- and animal-parasitic nematodes, free-living nematodes and
marine nematodes. The greater part of them was isolated from agricultural
areas, while others were found in natural areas such as the Adriatic sea and
caves.
In 1997 we started developing the national information system for plant protection, shorter as FITO-INFO. Design of the system model is a subject of a three-year research project, which has been ...financed jointly by the Ministry of Science and Technology and The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food. The following three institutions take part in the project: Biotechnical Faculty, Agronomy Department; Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering, Department of Chemical Education and Informatics; and Agricultural Institute of Slovenia. The system is made of interconnected modules, which consist of sub-units: organisms (taxonomy, descriptions, photos), pesticides (formulations, toxicology) and legislation. Various segments of the system are connected by hypertext via key parameters (crops, pests, diseases, weeds). The data in the system is accessible through various indexes and tables of contents. The system model is accessible on the Internet at http://www.bf.uni-lj.si/ag/fito.
Leta 1997 smo v Sloveniji začeli z izgradnjo nacionalnega informacijskega sistema za varstvo rastlin, s skrajšanim naslovom FITO-INFO. Izgradnja modela sistema je predmet triletnega raziskovalnega projekta, ki ga sofinancirata Ministrstvo za znanost in tehnologijo in Ministrstvo za kmetijstvo, gozdarstvo in prehrano Republike Slovenije. Pri projektu sodelujejo tri inštitucije: Oddelek za agronomijo BF, Oddelek za kemijsko izobraževanje in informatiko NTF in Kmetijski inštitut Slovenije. Sistem tvorijo medsebojno povezani moduli, sestavljenih iz podenot: organizmi (sistematika, opisi, slike), fitofarmacevtska sredstva (pripravki, toksikologija sestavin) in zakonodaja. Različni segmenti sistema so med seboj povezani s hipertekstovnimi povezavami po ključnih parametrih (posevki, škodljivci, bolezni, pleveli). Podatki so v sistemu dostopni preko različnih kazal. Model sistema je dostopen na internetu na naslovu http://www.bf.uni-lj.si/ag/fito.
Following a request from the European Commission, the EFSA Panel on Plant Health was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on a technical file submitted by the Japanese Authorities to support a ...derogation request from the EU import requirements for bonsai and topiary trees that are host plants of Anoplophora chinensis (Forster) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae). Three options were proposed as alternatives to the existing requirements of the European Union: a) to reduce the required period to grow plants in field cages from two years to one season prior to export (from April to October); b) to allow grafting of scions with no risk of infestation by A. chinensis during the two years of field‐cage cultivation and c) to remove the net from the field cage during the winter period (from November to March) when adult A. chinensis do not visit the area or lay eggs. The Panel evaluated the technical file and concluded that as the life cycle duration of the pest can be more than one season and larvae cannot be reliably detected within the plant, a reduction of the required growing period under complete physical protection increases the risk of entry into the EU compared with the current EU requirements. The Panel considered scions collected from a branch of a stock tree 50 cm or higher above the ground, with a diameter not exceeding 5 mm and a length of 5 cm, are unlikely to increase the risk of entry. The Panel also considered that, due to uncertainty on the occurrence of beetle flight and potential for oviposition between November and March, opening cages during this period may lead to an increased risk of entry into the EU compared to current measures.
Following a request from the European Commission, the EFSA Panel on Plant Health examined the report “Evaluation of Strawberry Nursery Plant Cold Treatments on Survival of the Whitefly, Bemisia ...tabaci”, submitted to the European Commission by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The report serves as technical justification for a derogation from requirements listed in Annex IV, Part A, Section 1, point 46 of the Council Directive 2000/29/EC. The Panel concluded that due to shortcomings in the report itself and in the experimental design of the study, this report does not demonstrate the effectiveness of the cold treatment proposed for the elimination of B. tabaci from strawberry plant consignments prepared for shipment to the EU. In addition, the Panel conducted a preliminary review of the available literature on viruses of strawberry and concluded that no B. tabaci‐transmitted viruses are currently known to infect strawberry and that no viruses of Fragaria listed in European Council Directive 2000/29/EC are known to be transmitted by B. tabaci. However, adult whiteflies of B. tabaci on strawberry consignments can carry plant viruses irrespective of whether strawberry is a host plant for these viruses and thus represent a pathway for the introduction of non‐European viruses. There is also some uncertainty concerning the extent to which known or unknown B. tabaci‐transmitted viruses could infect strawberry. Irrespective of the presence of B. tabaci, strawberry transplants from the US may represent a pathway for the introduction of any non‐European virus (and other potentially harmful organisms) of Fragaria.
The potato cyst nematode Globodera rostochiensis is one of the most serious pests of potato in Slovenia. Precise nematode identification and knowledge about potato cultivars, which are most suitable ...for growing in the Slovenian climate conditions and most resistant to G. rostochiensis, are necessary to develop an effective integrated pest control. Here we report the results of the influence of G. rostochiensis pathotype Ro1/4 on the yield of different potato cultivars: the susceptible cultivar Desiree, the resistant cultivars White Lady, Miranda, Aladin, Sante and Adora, and the clone KIS 94-1/5-14. The yield of cv. White Lady was the highest and that of susceptible cv. Desiree the lowest. The influence of several resistant and one susceptible potato cultivars on population dynamics of G. rostochiensis was also determined. The total number of cysts/100 cm3 and the number of eggs and juveniles per cyst increased in the
susceptible cv. Desiree and decreased in the resistant cultivars White Lady, Sante and Adora.
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