ProMED
http://www.promedmail.org

Source: European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO) Reporting Service 09/2024/199 [summ. Mod.DHA, edited]
https://gd.eppo.int/reporting/article-7949

In Italy, a new outbreak of _Meloidogyne enterolobii_ (EPPO A2 List) is being reported. The nematode had first been found in March 2023 in imported _Ficus microcarpa_ plants in Toscana region. Eradication was attempted [see comment below].

In May 2024, _F. microcarpa_ plants marketed by a nursery located in Sicily were intercepted in the Netherlands due to being infested with _M. enterolobii_. As a consequence, the NPPO [National Plant Protection Organisation] of Italy carried out official inspections in that nursery on the plants from the same batch that remained unsold.

The presence of _M. enterolobii_ was confirmed in the samples taken. Phytosanitary measures were applied to eradicate the outbreak: They include the destruction of the entire batch of plants, as well as trace-back and -forward studies. In this nursery, all new lots of host plants of _M. enterolobii_ will be subjected to phytosanitary inspections.

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Communicated by:
ProMED

[Root knot nematodes (_Meloidogyne_ species) attack a wide range of plants and cause significant economic losses in many vegetable and fruit crops. The genus contains around 70 species and is found worldwide in tropical and subtropical regions in many types of soil. Symptoms may include stunting, wilting and leaf chlorosis; large galls are formed throughout the root system affecting plant vigour and even killing the host. Affected plants may show increased sensitivity to other bacterial or fungal pathogens.

Root knot and many other nematodes can persist in the soil for many years and are spread by plant material, soil and mechanical means (e.g., contaminated equipment). Once they have been established in an area, it is difficult to control them. Disease management is generally aimed at keeping nematode levels below economic thresholds. An integrated approach is required, including phytosanitation (exclusion), cultural measures (such as long crop rotation with non-host species), nematicides and use of resistant crop varieties, if available.

_M. enterolobii_ is polyphagous and, although its precise host range is still unknown, has been found on many economically important crops, including potato, coffee, guava, soybean, melons and a range of vegetables. While it originates in subtropical areas, it also poses a serious threat to glasshouse crops in cooler regions. It is considered an emerging and particularly aggressive pathogen with increased virulence against crop varieties resistant to other root knot nematodes (e.g., ProMED post 20080912.2846).

An alert for _M. enterolobii_ was issued by EPPO in 2008 after quarantine interceptions in the Netherlands on material from several origins. Its establishment in Europe would pose a serious economic threat to the region. Generally, eradication of established pathogens or diseases has hardly ever been successful anywhere in the past (see multiple previous ProMED posts in the archives).

Pictures
Root knot (_Meloidogyne_ spp.) damage on different hosts:
https://image.slidesharecdn.com/rootknotdiseaseoftomato-161217114101/95/root-knot-disease-of-tomato-5-1024.jpg,
https://www.insectimages.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=5356846,
https://www.infonet-biovision.org/res/res/files/2171.280x185.clip.jpeg,
https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/sites/gateway/files/Carrots%20RKN%20037.jpg,
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h59Eoc8aUe8/Udm7sUcUwKI/AAAAAAAACeE/KM-IjOh1i0c/s1600/P1160726.JPG,
https://www.mississippi-crops.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/DSC_1047.jpg,
https://guilford.ces.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/sweet-potatoes.jpg and
https://plantpathology.ces.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Menterolobii_sweetpotato.jpg
_Meloidogyne_ photo gallery:
https://www.insectimages.org/browse/subthumb.cfm?sub=7001

Links
Information on _M. enterolobii_:
https://gd.eppo.int/taxon/MELGMY,
https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/Creatures/NEMATODE/Meloidogyne_enterolobii_Guava_or_pacara_earpod_root_knot_nematode.htm and
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2618283/
Information on root knot nematode diseases & pathogens:
https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/capsicums-and-chillies/root-knot-nematodes-western-australia,
https://plantdiseasehandbook.tamu.edu/problems-treatments/problems-affecting-multiple-crops/root-knot-nematodes/ and
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/root-knot-nematodes-vegetables
Genus _Meloidogyne_ taxonomy and species list:
https://www.uniprot.org/taxonomy/189290
All other nematode taxonomy via:
https://www.uniprot.org/taxonomy/6231
EPPO A2 list:
https://www.eppo.int/ACTIVITIES/plant_quarantine/A2_list
- Mod.DHA