Occurrence of Phytophthora ramorum in Portugal on Viburnum spp

Abstract

The pathogen Phytophthora ramorum Werres, De Cock & Man int Veld sp. nov. is part of the EPPO Alert List (EPPO, 2002) and is subject to emergency regulation measures, established by the decisions no. 2002/757/ CE, 2004/426/CE and 2007/201/CE of the European Commission. To comply with these decisions, Portugal has put in execution a national program to survey this harmful organism. As part of this program, in November 2006 and for the first time in Portugal, P. ramorum was detected and identified on Viburnum spp. The identification was made using the morphological and cultural characteristics of the isolates. The pathogenicity of this organism was verified on detached leafs of Viburnum sp.