Thousand cankers disease in Europe: an overview

Walnut (Juglans regia L.) is traditionally present in most European countries as an ornamental tree, and in Southern Europe in particular it is grown for both fruit and wood. Since the 1980s, to supply the increasing demand for walnut timber, large areas of southern and central Europe, from France to Hungary, have been planted with black walnut (Juglans nigra L.) to provide wood for furniture production. The fungus Geosmithia morbida and its vector Pityophthorus juglandis, causing the thousand cankers disease of walnut in the USA in the last 2 decades, were recently reported in Europe (in Italy) on both walnut species. Thousand cankers disease can have a high negative impact on the landscape and economy of many agricultural and forest areas. Following a detailed pest risk analysis performed by EPPO in 2015, both organisms were included in the EPPO A2 List of pests recommended for regulation as quarantine pests. The main biological, epidemiological and monitoring aspects of thousand cankers disease and its status in Europe are reported.