4^th Meeting of the Panel on Quarantine Nematodes

Ljubljana, 2005-11-14/15

The Panel on Quarantine Nematodes met at the Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, on 2005-11-14/15, at the kind invitation of Mr Urek. The Panel continued its work on the preparation of diagnostic protocols. To date, five diagnostic protocols have been published: PM 7/4 Bursaphelenchus xylophilus; PM 7/5 Nacobbus aberrans; PM 7/39 Aphelenchoides besseyi; PM 7/40 Globodera pallida & G. rostochiensis and PM 7/41 Meloidogyne chitwoodi & M. fallax. The last two protocols are already in the process of revision.

Protocols on Ditylenchus destructor & Ditylenchus dipsaci, Heterodera glycines, Radopholus similis sensu lato (including R. citrophilus) and Xiphinema americanum are at different stage of preparation and most of them, if not all, will be finalized in 2007. The Panel also considered several nematode species as potential new quarantine pests.

The Panel will next meet in 2007, with the venue still to be decided.