Potential spread of pests in New Zealand through commercial transport of nursery plants

Abstract

This study assessed the potential for plant pests to be transported within New Zealand in association with shipments of plants among commercial nurseries in North and South Islands Searches of soil and litter sampled from three deliveries of nursery plants to Christchurch indicated there is enormous potential to vector plant pests on this pathway A diversity of nematodes seeds and arthropods was recovered including Trichodorid and Xiphinema nematodes which can vector some plant viruses and currently have limited distributions in New Zealand This small survey showed that transport of nursery plants must be an important pathway for the dispersal of a wide range of organisms within New Zealand Not only is there a direct threat to the nursery plant industry from the activity of some pest species but also there is the obvious potential to spread pathogens and arthropod pests into the wider environment