International Safeguarding: Pest Exclusion and Mitigation

Description: This USDA funded international collaboration project shortens the time needed to secure solutions for managing the most severe citrus disease invasion in the USA. HLB has been reported in China for more than 100 years and the Chinese have extensive experience with managing the disease. Through systematic surveys and focused research projects in the country of origin, knowledge can be gained and translated to the US citrus industry.

Impact: Literature translated to English, documentation of experiences in China and new knowledge gained has been extended to the US citrus industry with immediate impact. Outcomes from this project have played a significant role in ameliorating losses in the $9 billion citrus industry in Florida. Translative outcomes of the project have become even more critical with the recent discovery of HLB in Texas and California.

Description: The Global Pest and Disease Database (GPDD) is a searchable archive of biological information (e.g., taxonomy, names, distribution, hosts, images, biology, control, detections, and references) on pests not known to occur in the United States or of limited U.S. distribution. The GPDD has 1,542 users (e.g., risk analysts, trade directors, import specialists, state survey coordinators, and port inspectors) who use the database to support risk assessments, pathway analyses, NAPPFAST maps, domestic surveys, and port activities. The GPDD provides advanced tools for creating PRA pest lists, and for predicting pest establishment and host range expansion.

Impact: The GPDD provides advanced tools for creating PRA pest lists, and for predicting pest establishment and host range expansion.

Description: The New Pest Advisory Group (NPAG) assesses exotic plant pests that are new or imminent threats to U.S. agriculture or the environment and recommends appropriate actions to APHIS PPQ. The NPAG database provides a password-protected and web-accessible repository of the analysis of plant pests that pose a threat to U.S. agriculture and environment. It provides reports quickly and efficiently with recommendations for pests that could affect high-risk states/areas, and highlight pests of regulatory significance.

Impact: The outcomes of NPAG activities have direct impacts in effecting changes to port policy and on domestic and emergency programs.

Description: The purpose of this project was to develop an interactive compendium of the host plants of selected economically significant tephritid fruit fly species. Input from PPQ staff in Raleigh and Riverdale during November to December, 2010, identified Mediterranean fruit fly, the oriental fruit fly complex, Mexican fruit fly, melon fly, and peach fruit fly as initial priority species.

Impact: The data obtained from the Fruit Fly Compendium will be helpful in the development of systems approaches to permit crop exports as well as readily permit quarantine regulatory officials to check on the risk of introduction of these fruit fly species in imported or exported fruits and vegetables.

Description: Project staff creates detailed Implementation Plans for Plant Pest and Management and Disaster Prevention for pests not yet in the US but which are considered to be threats to agricultural crops or forests in the United States.

Impact: These documents provide stakeholders with technical assistance prior to, during, and immediately following the development of a plant health emergency.

Description: The Commodity Treatment Information System is a secure, online webenabled data system that collects, stores, and creates reports from phytosanitary treatments and provides regulatory information for the USDA PPQ.

Impact: The applications are designed to offer technical solutions with regard to invasive species problems for industry and the governmental agencies responsible for imports.

Description: PestLens is a single source exotic plant pest and disease surveillance and reporting system, the function of which is to serve an early warning system that provides information to support informed safeguarding against exotic plant pests that threaten U.S. agriculture and natural resources.

Impact: The information about pest threats gathered from a wide range of sources provides a structured process for making safeguarding recommendations for PPQ and other plant health officials.

Description: IPM-CRIS supports IPM programs in developing nations. CIPM worked with the IPM-CRIS program to interact with senior scientists/extension personnel from Mali and Senegal with regard to grafting of fruiting vegetables and management of soilborne diseases; particularly bacterial wilt of tomato.

Impact: Superior information exchange occurred and personnel received a hands-on opportunity to graft tomato plants. We anticipate long-term relationships will continue, affording future opportunities for co-training and education.

Description: Development of the CAPS Pest Prioritization model started in September 2013 with Farm Bill funding. The primary purpose of the project is to provide an objective and standardized method for prioritizing exotic plant pests in order to identify arthropods, plant pathogens, nematodes and mollusks that are most likely to cause serious damage to plants if introduced in the United States.

Impact: Pest prioritization is a critical component of pest detection. Prioritization allows USDA APHIS PPQ to optimize the allocation of resources for the pest detection programs such as the size of the survey program and the development of pest-specific diagnostic aids and survey tools.

Description: The Huanglongbing (HLB) and Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) Chinese Literature Inventory is a joint project by the Center of IPM (CIPM), North Carolina State University, and USDA, APHIS, PPQ, Center for Plant Health and Science and Technology(CPHST). It provides viewers with access to high-quality, expert-reviewed Chinese literature on the disease complex..

Impact: This online system allows user to view HLB and ACP literature and add to and edit Chinese HLB literature in the inventory.