Source: NZ Ministry for Primary Industries
For 4 genera – Allium, Diospyros, Olea, and Passiflora – a review of the IHS amendment history, pest lists and measures suggested it was likely that the schedules were outdated and would not manage all pest risks appropriately. This review was tested using a hazard search process, to check for ‘new’ pests now known to be associated with each of the hosts, and which were either regulated and likely to cause harm, or likely to be new organisms in New Zealand.
A structured search approach was used to test the initial review, to give a relatively quick but consistent method for checking for potential pest hazards.
This approach is non-exhaustive and was not intended to create a complete list of potential pest hazards, especially with respect to the most recent research and first-report literature. However, we believe it was sufficiently robust to give a reliable indication of the potential for pest risks not appropriately managed by each of the four IHS schedules.
The process found many new potential pest associations. A significant number of the pests associated with the 4 hosts are regulated in New Zealand, or potential new organisms – hence, they may be biosecurity risks that need to be managed. Here are some examples from the pest lists we collated:
Allium
Fungi: Ciborinia allii, Colletotrichum allii
Bacteria: Pantoea allii, Pseudomonas syringae pv. allii, Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. allii
Viruses: Garlic mite-borne filamentous virus, Garlic virus E, Iris yellow spot virus
Diospyros
Fungi: Over 30 fungal species associated with persimmon, including five species of Phaeoacremonium and 10 species of Pseudocercospora.
Phytoplasmas: ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma australasiae’, ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma omanense’, ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma solani’, ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma ziziphi’
Olea
Nematodes: Multiple species potentially associated with nursery-produced plants
Fungi: Colletotrichum godetiae, Colletotrichum nymphaeae, Neofusicoccum mediterraneum, Neofusicoccum stellenboschiana, Pseudophaeomoniella oleae, Pseudophaeomoniella oleicola
Phytoplasmas: ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris’, ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma solani’, ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma pruni’, ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma ulmi’
Viruses: A range of known and newly identified viruses
Passiflora
Fungi: Alternaria passiflorae, Colletotrichum queenslandicum, Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. passiflorae
Bacteria: Ralstonia solanacearum, Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. passiflorae
Viruses: Multiple known and newly identified viruses associated with passionfruit vines, including Passion fruit mottle virus, Passion fruit severe leaf distortion virus, Passion fruit severe mottle-associated virus, Passion fruit vein clearing virus, Passion fruit yellow mosaic virus and Passionfruit woodiness virus.
This initial work indicates that existing measures are unlikely to appropriately manage pest risks. Therefore, we are suspending these four schedules until we can complete the risk analysis for the four genera.
We know that these four genera are of interest to you. We have added them to our list of requested species, to be prioritised on the work programme at a later time.
