EPPO Platform
on PRAs

Pest Risk Analysis for Coleosporium asterum

Description

As a result of the launch of the UK Plant Health Risk Register in 2014, the pest has been identified as an organism that continues to pose a potential risk to the UK forestry sector. When published in January 2014, the UK Plant Health Risk Register entry, which preceded the commissioning of this new PRA, stated (under ‘General comments’): ‘Dioecious rust of which the main host [i.e. Pinus] is prohibited, which provides some mitigation of the risk, though additional hosts are not regulated. Cut flowers are considered to provide a greater risk of introduction’. A UK PRA was produced in 2005 in response to interceptions of C. asterum on cut flowers of Solidago (2002) and Solidaster (2005) imported from Zimbabwe (Jones, 2005)5 . Although this PRA only assessed the risk posed by imported infected cut flowers originating in countries outside of the EU where the pest was thought to occur, the conclusion suggested that the risk posed by imported infected planting material was likely to be higher than that posed by imported infected cut flowers (contrary to the recent 2014 UK Plant Health Risk Register entry). As a result, EC listing and regulation of all host plants for planting was requested by the UK Plant Health Service in 2007 (Ward, 2007). This request remains outstanding and awaits consideration by the EC Standing Committee for Plant Health (EC SCPH). To support the request the UK have suggested to the EC SCPH that EFSA (the European Food Safety Authority) could review listing of the pest. (R. McIntosh, Defra, UK, personal communication, February 2014).

Organisms

  • Coleosporium asterum

Hosts

  • Ainsliaea
  • Aster
  • Aster scaber
  • Callistephus
  • Chrysops
  • Erigeron
  • Gaillardia
  • Grindelia
  • Haplopappus
  • Heterotheca
  • Inula
  • Kalimeris
  • Launaea
  • Machaeranthera
  • Pinus
  • Solidago
  • x Solidaster

Files

Type File Size
Pest Risk Analysis Download 1,29MB

PRA Area

  • United Kingdom