Official Pest Report
Official Pest Reports are provided by National Plant Protection Organizations within the NAPPO region. These Pest Reports are intended to comply with the International Plant Protection Convention's Standard on Pest Reporting, endorsed by the Interim Commission on Phytosanitary Measures in March 2002.
Gladiolus Rust, Uromyces transversalis (Thum.), detected again in Florida
Gladiolus Rust, Uromyces transversalis (Thum.), detected again in Florida
Country: United States
Title: Gladiolus Rust, Uromyces transversalis (Thum.), detected again in Florida
Contact:
Dr. Anwar Rizvi (301) 734-4313
Report:
On February 20, 2007, an inspector with Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services submitted gladiolus leaf samples that were suspected of being infected by gladiolus rust (GR) to the Plant Protection and Quarantine’s (PPQ) National Identification Service for confirmative diagnostic testing. These samples were collected from a commercial gladiolus production facility in Manatee County, Florida. On February 23, 2007, NIS confirmed GR infections in the sample.
The detection of GR in Manatee County represents the first known occurrence of this disease in 2007. In 2006, GR was detected for the first time in the United States at the same gladiolus production farm.
Further survey of the affected production sites revealed more GR-infected plants, mostly in plots where cut flowers were already harvested and plants were kept alive for new corm maturation. As a result, USDA issued an Emergency Action Notification (EAN) on March 2, 2007. More recently, on March 27, 2007, GR was positively identified in a gladiolus sample collected from a nursery in Clewiston, Hendry County, Florida. An EAN is being issued in response to this detection as well.
In response to this situation, APHIS convened a group of GR experts to provide technical support for mitigation and eradication of the rust following the National GR Management Plan for Exclusion and Eradication. This technical group initiated weekly conference calls starting on February 22, 2007.
Gladiolus rust is of plant quarantine importance in Europe and the United States. This fungus primarily attacks hybrid cultivars of gladiolus grown for flower production and could have significant impact if it became established or was transported into greenhouses or nurseries.
Under IPPC standards, gladiolus rust is considered to be a pest that is transient: actionable and under eradication in the United States.
Posted Date: April 16, 2007, 9 a.m.