Pest survey card on Fusarium circinatum

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Published on: Wed, 06 May 2020

The European Commission requested EFSA (M‐2017‐0137) to assist the Member States to plan annual survey activities of quarantine organisms using a statistically sound and risk‐based pest survey approach, in line with current international standards. Fusariumcircinatum is a Union quarantine pest that is currently present in Spain and Portugal. It is an ascomycete fungal pathogen and the causal agent of pitch canker disease. It enters the hosts through wounds in the plant tissues and the spores are spread naturally by wind, splashing water or by insects.Host plant species are available throughout the EU and the climate is suitable for the establishment of the pest in almost the entire EU territory. Detection surveys should mainly focus onPinusspp. and Pseudotsuga menziesii. Delimiting surveys should include all known host plants of F. circinatum that can be found in the survey area.The main risk activities relevant for surveillance arethe exchange of propagation material of Pinus spp. or P. menziesii and the import of wood material or plant material for decorative purposes (e.g. Christmas trees).Visual inspection is effective for the detection of F. circinatumon adult trees because symptoms can be found on almost all plant parts, whereas in forest nurseries it is not reliable due to the possibility of asymptomatic infection in seedlings. Moreover, for seeds there are no visual symptoms that canbe observed.When symptoms of pine pitch canker(PPC) are observed, samples should be taken for laboratory confirmation of F. circinatum. Molecular methods are preferred for the laboratory identification.