Potato Grower

28 POTATO GROWER | FEBRUARY 2017 In today's globalized world, intensified international trade has increased the risk of an introduction of noxious pests, including nematodes. Phytosanitary measures for the exclusion, suppression, containment or eradication of plant pests have been developed throughout the world to prevent risk of an entry from potentially damaging pests. Many of these measures are designed to minimize the transport and worldwide spread of pests or pathogens that may need to be contained or excluded. Legislation in most countries is based on international treaties and conventions. The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) is an international treaty that aims to secure coordinated, effective action to prevent and to control the introduction and spread of pests of plants and plant products. The IPPC is administered by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and is recognized by the World Trade Organization under the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (WTO-SPS Agreement). The Commission on Phytosanitary Measures is the governing body of the IPPC and has developed the International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No. 5, called the Glossary, which was adopted in 1997 by the FAO. The WTO-SPS agreement, an outcome of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, states that the purpose of an SPS is limited to the protection of human, animal or plant life or health; it applies to all sanitary and phytosanitary measures that can affect international trade. Phytosanitary measures for the purpose of preventing spread or introduction of plant pests can only be applied to regulated pests. "Quarantine pest" as defined by the Glossary is "a pest of potential economic importance to the area endangered thereby and not yet present there, or present but not widely distributed and being officially controlled." National legislation and regulations provide the framework for protecting plant resources from invasive pests. Implementing regulations or measures that ensure low pest prevalence in the exporting country, treatment of consignments, importing dormant plants and restricting import to certain seasons, or prohibiting the import of affected commodities are some of the measures taken to prevent or mitigate introduction of pests through trade. The IPPC recognizes the right of countries to regulate the import of certain plant species to avoid entry of a pest, to inspect or quarantine specific consignments, and to define which pest species are not allowed entry. According to the agreement, countries have the right to decide their own level of acceptable risk and to apply phytosanitary measures as required to protect plant health as long as such measures do not discriminate against certain countries or commodities and have as little impact on trade as possible. Regional Plant Protection Organizations (RPPOs) were created by the IPPC and allow for regional collaboration and coordination of phytosanitary issues and standards for respective regions. Nine RPPOs are currently recognized by the IPPC. The U.S. is a member country of the North American Plant Protection Organization along with Canada and Mexico. Individual countries have their own national plant protection organizations. In the U.S., the organization responsible for operating the regulatory framework for phytosanitary measures based on international standards is the USDA's Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Potential quarantine pests that meet the above criteria are evaluated through a pest risk analysis. Nematode pests of potato are among some of the most highly regulated pests in the world due to their impact on trade and production systems, and because they are readily transported and spread in infested tubers or in soil clinging to tubers. Phytosanitary measures work best for nematode species that have a narrow host range and a slow rate of reproduction. In the U.S., examples of regulated nematode pests include the potato cyst nematodes G. rostochiensis, which is regulated by 119 countries worldwide, and Globodera pallida, which is regulated by 80 countries worldwide. Both species originated in South America. Introduction of G. rostochiensis into the U.S. is believed to be from Europe on military equipment contaminated with Nematodes are adept invaders that are impossible to detect without collecting soil samples.

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