First record of Aceria kuko in Slovakia

Abstract

A sample of goji leaves with blisters was brought from a private garden in Vyšná Kamenica to the Botanical Garden of Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice to identify the problem. The respective plant (Lycium chinense Miller cv. Big Berry) was bought through the internet and these distortions occurred after some time during cultivation. The mites found on the deformed leaves were examined using a light microscope and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) as well. The identity of Aceria kuko (Kishida, 1927), the goji berry gall mite, was confirmed. Other available possible host plants in Košice and the surroundings were checked with no positive findings. However, typical foliar galls on goji plants have been indirectly observed (through the television) in Malinovo near Bratislava. Due to the risk from this mite species not only to the goji (Lycium sp.) but also to the pepper (Capsicum annuum Linnaeus) and some other Solanaceae plants, the respective authorities of the Slovak phytosanitary service were informed.

Keywords

• goji berry gall mite
• lycium sp.
• goji berry
• non-native species
• phytosanitary risk