| Legend |
|---|
| Justification for qualification based on EPPO PM 4 Standards |
| Justification for disqualification |
| Additional or non-conclusive information |
| Standard text |
NAME OF THE ORGANISM: Tetranychus urticae (TETRUR)
GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE PEST
Name as submitted in the project specification (if different):
Pest category:
Acari
1- Identity of the pest/Level of taxonomic listing:
Is the organism clearly a single taxonomic entity and can it be adequately distinguished from other entities of the same rank?
Yes
Is the pest defined at the species level or lower?:
Yes
Can listing of the pest at a taxonomic level higher than species be supported by scientific reasons or can species be identified within the taxonomic rank which are the (main) pests of concern?
- Not relevant: Fruits (including hops) sector
If necessary, please list the species:
-
Is it justified that the pest is listed at a taxonomic rank below species level?
Not relevant
Conclusion:
- Null: Fruits (including hops) sector
Justification (if necessary):
-
2 – Status in the EU:
Is this pest already a quarantine pest for the whole EU?
No
Presence in the EU:
Yes
List of countries (EPPO Global Database):
-
Conclusion:
Candidate
Justification (if necessary):
Data of the presence of this pest on the EU territory are available in CABI Crop Protection Compendium on Tetranychus urticae (two-spotted spider mite) (2021). The pest is reported to be present in Austria (1996), Belgium (1996), Bulgaria (1996), Croatia (2009), Cyprus (1996), Czech Republic (1996), Denmark (1996), Estonia (1996), Finland (1996), France (1996), Germany (2017), Greece (1996), Hungary (1996), Ireland (2003), Italy (1996), Latvia (1996), Lithuania (1996), Malta (1997), Netherlands (1996), Poland (1996), Romania (1996), Slovakia (2000), Slovenia (1996), Spain (1996), Sweden (1996).
HOST PLANT N°1: Rubus (1RUBG) for the Fruits (including hops) sector.
Origin of the listing:
New proposal
Plants for planting:
Plants intended for planting
3 - Is the pest already listed in a PM4 standard on the concerned host plant?
No
Conclusion:
Evaluation continues
Justification (if necessary):
Not mentioned in PM4/10(2) Rubus (2009)
4 - Are the listed plants for planting the main* pathway for the "pest/host/intended use" combination? (*: significant compared to others):
No
Conclusion:
Not candidate
Justification:
Tetranychus urticae has a very wide host range. It includes many crops grown in glasshouses such as tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers and flowers such as chrysanthemums and orchids. It is also a problem on protected and unprotected strawberries. In some areas it can be a problem on field-grown fruit crops such as apples, pears and on grapevines. Other important crops that are infested include cotton, soyabeans and other legumes. This mite can also live on many non-crop hosts, which can provide a source of infestation (CABI 2021).
Tetranychus urticae has an overwintering or diapause form of the adult female that is initiated by short photoperiod, decreased temperature and unfavorable food supply. The overwintering females stop feeding and egg laying and leave their host plants to hibernate in cracks and crevices in protected places, such as the soil or glasshouse structures. They resume activity in the spring when they lay eggs on leaves. These mites also produce copious amounts of webbing (CABI, 2021).
Tetranychus urticae can be transported on plant material, but due to its large host-plant range, its ability to survive as overwintering female, its dispersal by active walking or by passive transport in the wind and on plants, tools and people (Zhang, 2003), plant material is not considered as a significant pathway compared to others (even under protected conditions).
Tetranychus urticae has an overwintering or diapause form of the adult female that is initiated by short photoperiod, decreased temperature and unfavorable food supply. The overwintering females stop feeding and egg laying and leave their host plants to hibernate in cracks and crevices in protected places, such as the soil or glasshouse structures. They resume activity in the spring when they lay eggs on leaves. These mites also produce copious amounts of webbing (CABI, 2021).
Tetranychus urticae can be transported on plant material, but due to its large host-plant range, its ability to survive as overwintering female, its dispersal by active walking or by passive transport in the wind and on plants, tools and people (Zhang, 2003), plant material is not considered as a significant pathway compared to others (even under protected conditions).
5 - Economic impact:
Are there documented reports of any economic impact on the host?
Yes
Justification:
Rubus / raspberry: Hot, dry summer conditions can promote spider mite populations that can cause ‘mite burn’, a golden bronzing, typically seen on the lower leaves first. Mites begin feeding on ground vegetation in the spring,
and then climb into the raspberry plants as the ground cover dries out and the mite numbers increase. Raspberry leaves are highly sensitive to mite feeding. Mites cause damage to raspberry through reduced photosynthesis that leads to reduced cane vigour and berry yield, and weakened primocanes that are predisposed to winter injury (Alston, 2017).
and then climb into the raspberry plants as the ground cover dries out and the mite numbers increase. Raspberry leaves are highly sensitive to mite feeding. Mites cause damage to raspberry through reduced photosynthesis that leads to reduced cane vigour and berry yield, and weakened primocanes that are predisposed to winter injury (Alston, 2017).
What is the likely economic impact of the pest irrespective of its infestation source in the absence of phytosanitary measures? (= official measures)
Is the economic impact due to the presence of the pest on the named host plant for planting, acceptable to the propagation and end user sectors concerned?
Is there unacceptable economic impact caused to other hosts (or the same host with a different intended use) produced at the same place of production due to the transfer of the pest from the named host plant for planting?
Conclusion:
Justification:
6 - Are there feasible and effective measures available to prevent the presence of the pest on the plants for planting at an incidence above a certain threshold (including zero) to avoid an unacceptable economic impact as regards the relevant host plants?
Conclusion:
Justification:
Biological control with e.g. predatory mites (Easterbrook et al., 2001; García-Marí & González-Zamora, 2019, Vacacela et al., 2019; Linder et al., 2001; Akyazi & Liburd, 2019).
Pesticides: dependent on regulations (Attia et al., 2013).
Cultural measures: It has long been known that high humidity levels reduce the reproductive potential of tetranychids whose optimal environment is provided by hot and dry air (Attia et al., 2013)
Pesticides: dependent on regulations (Attia et al., 2013).
Cultural measures: It has long been known that high humidity levels reduce the reproductive potential of tetranychids whose optimal environment is provided by hot and dry air (Attia et al., 2013)
7- Is the quality of the data sufficient to recommend the pest to be listed as a RNQP?
Conclusion:
Justification:
CONCLUSION ON THE STATUS:
Disqualified: plants for planting is not a significant pathway
8 - Tolerance level:
Is there a need to change the Tolerance level:
No (new regulation proposal)
Proposed Tolerance levels:
No listing.
9 - Risk management measures:
Is there a need to change the Risk management measure:
No
Proposed Risk management measure:
No listing.
REFERENCES:
- Akyazi R & Liburd OE (2019). Biological control of the twospotted spider mite (Trombidiformes: Tetranychidae) with the predatory mite Neoseiulus californicus (Mesotigmata: Phytoseiidae) in blackberries. Florida Entomologist 102(2), 373-381. Journal of Pesticide Science 86, 361–386
- Alston D (2017) Spider mites in raspberry. Utah State University Extension and Utah Plant Pest Diagnostic Laboratory ENT-183-17. https://extension.usu.edu/pests/research/spidermites-in-raspberry
- Attia S., Grissa KL, Lognay G, Bitume E, Hance T, Mailleux AC (2013). A review of the major biological approaches to control the worldwide pest Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae) with special reference to natural pesticides.
- CABI (2021) Tetranychus urticae (two-spotted spider mite). https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/cabicompendium.53366
- Easterbrook MA, Fitzgerald JD & Solomon MG (2001). Biological control of strawberry tarsonemid mite Phytonemus pallidus and two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae on strawberry in the UK using species of Neoseiulus (Amblyseius)(Acari: Phytoseiidae). Experimental & Applied Acarology 25, 25-36.
- García-Marí F & González-Zamora JE. (1999). Biological control of Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae) with naturally occurring predators in strawberry plantings in Valenica, Spain. Experimental & Applied Acarology 23, 487-495.
- Linder C, Mittaz C & Carlen C. (2003). Biological control of Tetranychus urticae on plastic covered raspberries with native and introduced phytoseiids. IOBC WPRS Bulletin 26(2), 113-118.
- Nyoike TW & Liburd OE (2013). Effect of Tetranychus urticae (acari: tetranychidae), on marketable yields of field-grown strawberries in north-central Florida. Journal of Economic Entomology 106(4), 1757–1766. https://doi.org/10.1603/EC12033.
- Oatman ER, Sances FV, LaPre LF, Toscano NC, Voth V (1982). Effects of different infestation levels of the two-spotted spider mite on strawberry yields in winter plantings in southern California. Journal of Economic Entomology 75(1), 94-96.
- Sances FV, Wyman JA, Ting IP (1979). Morphological responses of strawberry leaves to infestations of two-spotted spider mite. Journal of Economic Entomology 72(5), 710-713.
- Sances FV, Toscano NC, LaPre LF, Oatman ER, Johnson MW (1982). Spider mites can reduce strawberry yields. California Agriculture 36(1/2):14-15
- Vacacela Ajila HE, Colares F, Lemos F, Marques PH, Franklin EC, Santos do Vale W, Oliveira EE, Venzon M & Pallini, A. (2019). Supplementary food for Neoseiulus californicus boosts biological control of Tetranychus urticae on strawberry. Pest Management Science, 75(7), 1986-1992.
- Zhang ZQ (2003). Mites of Greenhouses: Identification, Biology and Control. Wallingford, UK: CAB International.