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Occurrence and Detection of Globodera rostochiensis on Vancouver Island, British Columbia: An Update

November 2010 , Volume 94 , Number  11
Pages  1,367 - 1,371

Michael Rott, Tracy Lawrence, and Mark Belton, Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), Sidney Laboratory, 8801 East Saanich Rd., Sidney, British Columbia (B.C.), V8L 1H3, Canada; Fengcheng Sun, CFIA, Ottawa Plant Laboratories, 3851 Fallowfield Rd., P.O. Box 11300, Ottawa Ontario, K2H 8P9, Canada; and Doug Kyle, CFIA, Victoria District Office, 4475 Viewmont Ave., Victoria, B.C., L8Z 6L8, Canada



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Accepted for publication 14 July 2010.

The potato cyst nematode (PCN), Globodera rostochiensis, has been present in Central Saanich on Vancouver Island for at least 45 years. Eradication/control efforts have been ongoing, with regulations enacted in the early 1980s restricting the planting of host crops and movement of soil. Surveys monitoring for cyst populations have been minimal since the regulations have been in place with only one limited study in the early 1990s. In this report, a survey of eight fields was undertaken, chosen as the most likely sites that may still harbor viable PCN cysts. Conventional sampling/detection methods were considered inadequate for the detection of very low cyst populations, and an innovative bioassay was developed to improve detection while minimizing costs and labor. Viable cysts were recovered from two fields, both with past quarantine infractions. Fields with no known infractions were found free of viable cysts. Lack of viable cysts found in fields with no infractions suggests that the quarantine restrictions in place since the early 1980s have been effective in reducing or eliminating PCN from these fields. Further systematic and comprehensive retesting of all fields within the quarantine zone is now required, which could lead to the reduction or lifting of some quarantine restrictions.



This article is in the public domain and not copyrightable. It may be freely reprinted with customary crediting of the source. The American Phytopathological Society, 2010.