Sugarbeet rhizomania in England1

Abstract

Concern about the introduction of rhizomania to UK heightened when the disease was confirmed in The Netherlands in 1983. A series of precautionary measures supported by legislation was quickly enacted to reduce this risk. Extensive surveys of harvested beet and of growing crops failed to reveal any infection until 1987 when a single isolated outbreak was found near Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. Plants in the affected field showed typical rhizomania symptoms and laboratory tests confirmed the presence of beet necrotic yellow vein furovirus (BNYVV). Further investigation of isolates from the outbreak field revealed the presence of beet soil‐borne furovirus in addition to BNYVV and sometimes both were present in mixed infections. Intensive surveys in the immediate area of the outbreak, both by field inspections of growing crops and by soil bait testing, confirmed infection only in the one field and the margin of the adjacent field. Immediate containment measures were followed by soil sterilization with methyl bromide to minimize the movement of infection from the area. Surveys of beet will continue, but results to date suggest that the distribution of the disease is limited in extent.