In article , Derek Luther
writes
I would be grateful for any information on the spread of FGM northwards
as I am tracking the spread and the only outbreaks that have been
confirmed are along the south coast, so I would be interested in your
source of this information.

Derek of Dorset


From the RHS site ...................


"Gardeners swapping fuchsia plants and cuttings need to beware a pest
that looks set to spread across the country, warns the RHS.

Fuchsia gall mite, Aculops fuchsiae, was first detected in the UK by the
RHS three years ago when one of its members in Hampshire sent a fuchsia
with severely distorted growth to the RHS advisory service for
diagnosis. Since then more infested samples sent from the South, from
Kent to Devon, show that it is spreading."


This from their Media Centre top ten pests reported

=6. Fuchsia gall mite (Aculops fuchsiae). This destructive pest infests
the shoot tips and flower buds of fuchsias, causing gross distortion and
preventing the normal development of foliage and flowers. This pest was
first detected in the UK in 2007 when a sample of an infested fuchsia
was sent to the RHS Members’ Advisory Service from a garden in
Hampshire. Since then it has become widespread in counties along the
south coast of England and is spreading further north. This is the first
time this pest has featured in the top ten.

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Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk