In 2014, the rust fungus Puccinia komarovii var. glanduliferae, native to the foothills of the Himalayas from Kashmir to Western Nepal, became the first fungal agent to be released into Europe for the classical biological control of a non‐native weed. The target, Impatiens glandulifera or Himalayan balsam, is a prolific invader of riparian habitats in Europe and North America. During the period 2015–2018, a strain of the rust from India was released at a total of 36 sites, in 17 counties in England and Wales. There was limited field infection in 2015 and inoculation experiments conducted under controlled conditions revealed significant variation in the susceptibility of plant populations to the rust, with some showing immunity. Subsequently, a second strain of the rust from Pakistan was released in 2017 and was found to infect a different cohort of Himalayan balsam populations. The rust mass production methodology, and field inoculation and monitoring protocol, are detailed, and plants were tested for susceptibility to both rust strains prior to field release. Levels of foliar infection at selected sites in 2017 and 2018 are presented, as well as seedling infection rates in the spring of 2019. The results show that the rust is able to overwinter and establish populations in stands of Himalayan balsam in England. The issues involved with measuring the impact of the biological control agent are discussed.

中文翻译：

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协同进化的防锈真菌在不列颠群岛管理喜马拉雅香脂的潜力：首次公开发行

2014年，锈菌Puccinia komarovii var。腺科原产于从克什米尔到尼泊尔西部的喜马拉雅山山麓，它是第一种被释放到欧洲用于经典生物防治非本土杂草的真菌。目标，凤仙花喜马拉雅苦瓜，是欧洲和北美洲河岸生境的多产入侵者。在2015-2018年期间，在英格兰和威尔士的17个县的总共36个地点释放了来自印度的一种锈菌。2015年的田间感染有限，在受控条件下进行的接种实验表明，植物种群对铁锈的敏感性差异很大，其中一些具有免疫性。随后，巴基斯坦的第二种锈病菌株于2017年被释放，并被发现感染了喜马拉雅香脂种群的不同人群。详细介绍了防锈剂的大量生产方法，田间接种和监测方案，并在田间释放之前对植物进行了两种锈菌敏感性测试。列出了2017年和2018年特定地点的叶面感染水平，以及2019年春季的幼苗感染率。结果表明，铁锈能够越冬并在英格兰的喜马拉雅苦瓜花架中定居。讨论了与测量生物防治剂的影响有关的问题。