Pest survey card on Phyllosticta citricarpa

The European Commission requested EFSA (M‐2017‐0137) to assist the Member States to plan annual survey activities of quarantine organisms using a statistically sound and risk‐based pest survey approach, in line with current international standards. Phyllostictacitricarpa is a Union quarantine pest and the causal agent of citrus black spot (CBS). It is not known to occur in the EU so special requirements for the import of its host plants and fruit from third countries are in place to prevent its introduction and spread. P. citricarpa produces asexual pycnidia and pycnidiospores on fruit lesions, twigs and leaf litter, but it can also reproduce sexually, giving rise to pseudothecia and ascospores, which are particularly important for long‐range dissemination. Most commercial citrus species are susceptible to CBS. Due to the variety of environments in which the fungus is currently distributed, all citrus‐growing areas in the EU are potentially suitable for the establishment of the pest. The main pathways for its introduction and spread include production, handling and transport of infected plants for planting or fruit. The goal of the visual examination is to detect the symptoms caused by P. citricarpa. Since symptoms are non‐specific and may be highly variable, visual examination should be followed by laboratory testing. Moreover, CBS has a long incubation period and infected fruit may still be asymptomatic at maturity. In this case, symptom induction methods or other early detection approaches (e.g. airborne spore traps or rain collectors for splash‐dispersed conidia) could be further explored. For symptomatic fruit, three mainmethods foridentifyingP. citricarpain the laboratoryare presented.Based on the analyses of the information on the pest–host plant system, the variousunits that are needed to design asurvey should be defined and tailored to the situation of each Member State.