Potato Rot Nematode Confirmed in Ontario
(firmenpresse) - OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 08/18/11 -- The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has confirmed a detection of potato rot nematode (Ditylenchus destructor) in garlic from a two-acre farm field in the Ottawa region of Ontario.
Potato rot nematode (PRN) is a regulated quarantine pest in Canada that can damage and reduce harvest yields of potatoes and other crops. This pest does not pose a risk to human health.
The affected farm does not produce potatoes or other plant material used for planting on other farms and is not in an area located near a seed potato production operation. In line with international plant health guidelines, strict quarantine measures have been implemented on the affected property to prevent the spread of this pest. An investigation is underway in collaboration with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the province of Ontario and industry.
PRN has been previously confirmed on Prince Edward Island, where it has been effectively controlled, and in areas of the United States, Africa, Asia, Europe, Mexico, Oceania and South America. It spreads mainly through the movement of infested planting material and soil.
Additional information on this detection of PRN will be available on the CFIA website at as it becomes available.
FACT SHEET
Potato Rot Nematode
Ditylenchus destructor Thorne
Ditylenchus destructor, potato rot nematode (PRN), is a tiny roundworm that can cause significant damage to the underground parts (roots, tubers, bulbs) of host crops. Such crops include potatoes, sugar beets, carrots and garlic.
PRN can reduce harvest yields of host crops and cause additional damage during storage. While PRN poses no risk to human health, the nematode can affect international trade of certain commodities (especially potatoes).
Distribution
PRN is a regulated quarantine pest in Canada under the Plant Protection Act, which is enforced by the CFIA. It has been detected in parts of Canada, the United States, Mexico, Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania and South America.
Slow to move on its own, PRN primarily spreads through infested planting material (e.g. tubers - potato, rootstock, rhizomes and bulbs (especially Iris)). Infested soil attached to planting material, machinery and vehicles may also carry the nematode. As well, irrigation or flooding can contribute to short distance travel.
Detection and diagnosis
Signs of PRN above the ground are rare. Heavily infested potato plants may be smaller and have curling, smaller and discoloured leaves.
Infestations of iris and tulip bulbs tend to begin at the base, causing grey to black lesions that extend upward, blackened roots, and leaves that develop poorly with yellow tips.
Early infections in potatoes can be seen by peeling the skin to reveal off-white spots that later will enlarge, darken, and become mealy in texture. Badly affected tubers may demonstrate slightly sunken areas with cracked and wrinkled skin, detached in places from the underlying flesh, deteriorating further in colour from greyish to dark brown or black.
Unlike certain other nematode species, this nematode lacks a protective resting stage and is unable to survive through extended periods of desiccation (drying). Thus, PRN is usually only an important plant parasite under cool, moist conditions. PRN over-winters on leftover plant debris or in soil (as adults and larvae), where it can multiply by feeding on a wide range of other plant hosts. It may also over-winter as eggs.
Hosts
Potatoes are the principle host, although the nematode may also attack other crops such as
At least 90 crop and weed species (such as dandelion, plantain and mint) serve as hosts. PRN is also known to feed on a broad range of soil fungi.
Best management practices
Once established, potato rot nematode is nearly impossible to eliminate because it can survive on a range of other hosts and soil fungi.
Although a new generation of PRN will be produced each time a host crop is grown, some practices help reduce and manage the nematode population over time.
Regulatory controls
If PRN is detected, immediate regulatory measures are taken to contain potential spread. Potato rot nematode is a regulated quarantine pest in Canada and any suspected infestation must be immediately reported to a local CFIA office.
For more information or a list of local CFIA offices 1-800-442-2342
Contacts:
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Media Relations
613-773-6600
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Datum: 18.08.2011 - 09:00 Uhr
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News-ID 1031837
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