Official control - Urocystis cepulae, onion smut

Publication Date

Fri, 25 Oct 2019, 00:32

Last Updated

Oct. 25, 2019, 12:32 a.m.

Report Number

AUS-94/1

Country

Australia

Pest Id

Urocystis cepulae - (UROCCE)

Report Status

Final

Hosts

Smut most commonly affects onions, shallots, chives, and leeks.

Pest Status (old values from ISPM 8 -1998 )

• Present: under eradication

Pest Status (ISPM 8 - 2021)

• Present: not widely distributed and under official control

Geographical Distribution

South Australia

Summary

In late September 2019, onion smut was detected on onions on one property near Murray Bridge in South Australia. The detection is subject to an eradication response with quarantine measures and regulatory controls in place.

In June 2019, onion smut was declared eradicated from Australia. This was following the lifting of quarantine zones for onion smut in 2017 following 15 years of no positive identifications from surveys in South Australia since 2002 at Purnong Landing. The quarantine period mandated was consistent with reports from the literature on the longevity of teliospores in the soil. Concurrently, and to facilitate ongoing onion trade, South Australia also conducted annual surveillance of more than 90% of the States’ Allium production between 1979 and 2009 with no positive identifications made.

Danger

In September 2019, onion smut was detected on onions in South Australia.

Contact for info

Australian Chief Plant Protection Officer Australian Government Department of Agriculture GPO Box 858 Canberra ACT 2601 [email protected]

Report files

Website

Issue keywords

Pest reporting

Commodity keywords