DISTRIBUTION, CHARACTERISTICS AND DIAGNOSTIC METHODS FOR FIRE BLIGHT (ERWINIA AMYLOVORA) IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Fire blight was first detected in the Russian Federation (RF) in 2003. Since 2007, in the course of annual monitoring conducted by the Russian NPPO, Erwinia amylovora has been detected in 13 regions located in the European part of the Russian Federation. By areas of their detection, the outbreaks may be grouped as follows: outbreaks in Kaliningrad Region (the western enclave of Russia), the Central Black Earth Area (Voronezh, Tambov, Belgorod, Lipetsk and Penza regions), Lower Volga area (Samara, Saratov and Volgograd regions), as well as Stavropol and Krasnodar Krais and the Northern Caucasus (Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachaevo-Cherkessia). These areas vary in terms of their climatic conditions and agricultural production practices. This accounts for significant differences in the severity of damage caused by the fire blight in these areas. The first study of five E. amylovora strains from Kaliningrad, Voronezh, Tambov, Volgograd regions and Kabardino-Balkaria indicated that all of these strains were related (except for the strain from Kaliningrad). Currently, the study on the biology, origin, distribution and potential damage caused by the pest is being conducted. The bacteriological laboratories of the All-Russian Plant Quarantine Center (VNIIKR, the main research institution of the Russian NPPO) are situated in eight regions of the Russian Federation. Detection and identification of the fire blight is performed in compliance with VNIIKR’s Technical Standard based on the EPPO Standard PM 20(1). Furthermore, a FLASH-PCR commercial kit for detection of E. amylovora developed in Russia has been validated and recommended as a simple and reliable screening and confirming test.