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June 28, 2004
From: European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organisation (EPPO) Reporting Service 2004, No. 01 [edited]


2004/005 - First finding of Stolbur phytoplasma on ware potatoes in Austria

The National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO) of Austria recently notified the EPPO Secretariat of the first finding of Stolbur phytoplasma (EPPO A2 list) on ware potatoes (_Solanum tuberosum_). The disease was detected by a farmer in the district of Neunkirchen (Niederosterreich), and the local plant protection service in Niederosterreich was notified. The occurrence of the pathogen was confirmed officially.

The local plant protection service ordered that the potatoes from the infested field be marketed for consumption only and not for planting. The field will be inspected officially in the current season (summer 2004), and volunteer plants will be destroyed. The source of this infection is unknown.

The declared status of Stolbur phytoplasma in Austria is: present, first found in 2003, only in one farm in Niederosterreich, under observation.

Source: NPPO of Austria, 2004-01.

[Phytoplasma-induced diseases are an increasingly common factor in production of major food crops. Disease management basically depends upon planting certified seed in areas free of phytoplasmas or, in the case of areas infested with infected weeds and leafhoppers, use of chemical insecticides to reduce vector populations. Stolbur disease incidence in potato can be high, leading to significant crop loss, but the disease tends not to persist in stocks. Development of resistance to phytoplasmas may offer a measure of control. - Mod.DH]