Situation of Ralstonia solanacearum in the EPPO region in 1997

In the early 1990s, Ralstonia solanacearum , an EPPO A2 quarantine pest which previously occurred only sporadically in some of the southern Member Countries, caused a number of outbreaks of potato brown rot over a wider area in the EPPO region. The National Plant Protection Organizations of the EPPO Member Countries concerned have taken action to eradicate the pest, and in particular the European Union has taken joint action through a Control Directive. Eradication has been successful in many cases, but is complicated by the fact that R. solanacearum can persist on wild Solanum dulcamara and be dispersed by water. EPPO has collected information from its Member Countries through the period of the outbreaks and eradication, and presents in this article an overall view and a detailed country-by-country situation.