Side-effects of 107 pesticides on the whitefly parasitoid Encarsia formosa, studied and evaluated according to EPPO guideline no. 142

The side-effects of plant protection products on beneficial arthropods have been studied by the Netherlands Plant Protection Service since 1974. Laboratory test methods were developed in the context of IOBC/WPRS for Encarsia formosa , a natural enemy of glasshouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum. These methods were elaborated by EPPO into a sequential decision-making scheme and published as an official EPPO guideline in 1989. The scheme includes a residual toxicity test on adults, a direct contact test on pupae, a persistence test on adults, all in the laboratory, and a field test. Following this guideline, the Netherlands Plant Protection Service tested and evaluated 107 pesticides at 307 concentrations over 10 years. Test details and complete test results are reported, including the risk assessments according to the EPPO scheme and according to the IOBC/WPRS conventions. These results are further summarized per type of pesticide, kind of test and risk classification. The efficiency of the scheme in classifying pesticide concentrations for risk to E. formosa is analysed. The scheme was found to be reasonably practical and efficient except for pesticides in the range between safe and hazardous. Suggestions for improvement are given. Also the possible need for changing the original IOBC/WPRS-criterion for harmlessness (effect < 50%) is discussed. No reasons for lowering the criterion to 30% were found. The decision-making scheme fits into the general approach for environmental risk assessment of plant protection products, developed recently by EPPO and the Council of Europe.     

International plant protection; the role of FAO

Plant protection has many international aspects; it is also quickly changing, especially in relation to sustainability. FAO’s activities in plant protection are grouped in four major thrusts: plant quarantine, pesticide management, integrated pest management and migratory pest control. The International Plant Protection Convention defines the FAO’s activities in plant quarantine, while, in response to the GATT Uruguay Round, harmonization of plant quarantine is also being undertaken. Pesticide management activities address the International Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides and standard setting on pesticide residues. Integrated Pest Management is the core of the plant protection programme, together with international coordination of migratory pest control. All these activities are complemented by technical assistance programmes, including assistance with the establishment of plant protection services.FAO’s activities remain a compromise between what member countries see as desirable and what is affordable. Long term commitment is required to achieve result. New functions in quarantine and pesticide management have been taken up, but the international assessment of pesticides needs urgent attention. The paradigm change away from pesticide use will require further international cooperation. Substantial research and a new control system is needed for locust control.     

Der bayerische Pflanzenschutzdienst stellt sich vor

After a brief overview covering the history and development of the Plant Protection Service in Bavaria since 1900 the Bavarian State Research Center for Agriculture which was founded on January 1st, 2003 is described. The Institute for Plant Protection as part of the Research Center is the central institution in Bavaria focusing on plant protection and taking responsibility for plant protection issues. The Institute for Plant Protection is supported by seven main offices of agriculture and forestry. Practical advice for growers concerning plant protection is given by 27 plant protection teams located at the offices of agriculture and forestry at the administrative district level. The following main issues are presented:

development of disease forecasting models,

law enforcement,

diagnosis of diseases and pests,

net of agrarmeteorological stations in Bavaria

     

QBOL: a new EU project focusing on DNA barcoding of Quarantine organisms

In 2009 a new three year EU funded project (QBOL) started on DNA barcoding of important plant pests. An international consortium of 20 partners (universities, research institutes, and phytosanitary organizations) from around the world, coordinated by Plant Research International (Wageningen, the Netherlands), will collect DNA barcodes from many plant pathogenic quarantine organisms, store these sequences in a database accessible over the internet, develop a DNA bank and train end-users. All these activities should help National Plant Protection Services in the correct identification and detection of plant pathogenic quarantine organisms.     

Registration of agricultural chemicals: modified procedure for field testing of pesticides established in The Netherlands

Because of increasing government fees, the chemical industry in The Netherlands has shown interest in taking over the performance of any additional field trials required for obtaining the registration of pesticides. A system is described whereby the chemical industry arranges and performs such trials under the surveillance and supervision of the Plant Protection Service, the Service retaining control of standards, the right of evaluation, and the final assessment of efficacy. Areas of responsibility are defined, suggestions for the future are given and the system is seen as developing satisfactorily.     

Pest and disease monitoring and plant protection information systems in Denmark1

At the Danish Research Centre for Plant Protection, under the Information System Program, a Pest and Disease Monitoring System (PDM) and a Plant Protection Information System (PPIS) are being developed and maintained with the objectives of recording the pest and disease status of the country and integrating information pertaining to optimal plant protection measures, pests and diseases, spraying techniques, pesticides and beneficial organisms. PDM was initiated in 1983 and covers five pests and 11 diseases in seven groups of crops. Monitoring is done regularly by voluntary participants during the growing season and the system includes individual farm recommendations. In 1989 there were 692 participants in the programme. PPIS was initiated in 1987 and will be tested in 1990. The system integrates optimal plant protection strategies for individual farms with all relevant information on plant protection.     

Q‐collect: results of a European Union project to improve the status of reference collections important for plant health

The ability of National Plant Protection Organizations (NPPOs) and their affiliated laboratories to quickly and reliably detect and identify organisms is critical for the effective performance of phytosanitary measures. Plant pest diagnostics is also essential to support the phytosanitary certification of consignments of plants and plant products exported from the EU. Access to reference material has been identified as a limitation on the ability of laboratories to develop and validate diagnostic tests and ensure the reliability of diagnostics. The EU FP7 Q‐collect project worked to establish the state of the art of current phytosanitary collections, to identify gaps and propose minimum quality standards, to facilitate access to specimens and to design and build networks of reference collections. The main results of the project are presented in this paper.     

USDA pest risk assessment of biological control organisms1

Today, as managers of plant pest control programs seek more and more alternatives to chemical pesticides, the demand for biological control organisms in the USA has increased significantly in volume and variety. There is a corresponding increase in the numbers of permit requests for biological control agents from foreign sources. Environmentalists, Federal and State plant regulatory agencies in the USA are concerned over the long-term effects of these ‘beneficials’ on the target hosts, non-target organisms, codependency of flora and fauna, and on the general environment. Within the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of USDA, Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) protects US agriculture from the introduction and dispersal of harmful plant pests. It does this with the help of a network of Plant Quarantine Officers. PPQ strongly supports biological control strategies and the importation of more effective agents by accommodating the needs of agribusiness under appropriate safeguards. Although most biological control organisms are not plant pests, certain precautions are in order prior to release since shipments may contain unwanted pests, other contaminants and prohibited plant material.     

Transnational European research collaboration to tackle plant health threats: Euphresco and its contribution to the new EU Plant Health Regulation

The new EU Plant Health Regulation published in December 2016 is intended to modernize the EU plant health regime and to address the challenges posed by globalization of trade and climate change, overcoming the limits of the previous Directive. The main weaknesses of the approach taken so far are linked to the discontinuous links between phytosanitary policy (determined at EU level) and research supporting such a policy, implemented at country level. Since 2006 Euphresco has developed a platform for research coordination that supports capacity building and streamlines the delivery and use of research evidence to support plant health policy. The paper provides an opinion on how Euphresco (research) activities could support the implementation of the new EU Plant Health Regulation.     

10th EPPO Workshop for Phytosanitary Inspectors, Sankt-Peterburg, RU, 1999-10-25/29

The 10th Workshop for Phytosanitary Inspectors provided the opportunity for inspectors from 27 countries to exchange experiences on working procedures, as at other annual EPPO workshops of this type. It was also the occasion for a detailed presentation of the structure and activities of the State Plant Quarantine Service of the Russian Federation, with particular reference to the complex structure of the different elements of the service in a large federal country, phytosanitary regulations, phytosanitary certification procedures, inspection procedures, interceptions, bilateral agreements, fumigation and special aspects arising from the export of wood. Contributions from the EPPO Secretariat and from other countries also related to phytosanitary regulations for wood, inspection procedures and the problems arising from the wood trade.     

EPPO Council Colloquium on 'Plant health and the environment', Dublin, 2000-09-21

The National Plant Protection Organizations of EPPO countries have a basic responsibility to prevent the introduction and spread of pests of plants and plant products. This has been for many years defined by the IPPC (International Plant Protection Convention) and now by its new revised text. The Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures of the World Trade Organization has in the past 10 years aimed to prevent the use of phytosanitary measures as unjustified barriers to trade. In the past 2 years, new constraints have appeared, particularly on account of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). International co-operation is now developing on biosafety (restricting the movement of potentially dangerous organisms, whether GMOs, alien species or invasive species) and on the protection of the environment and biodiversity as such. The new obligations of countries under the CBD, and the measures which they can take to implement them, overlap to a significant extent with their obligations under the IPPC. The responsibilities and tasks of NPPOs (under Ministries of Agriculture) can at a technical level be extended to cover the concerns of the CBD, but in so doing may conflict with those of the equivalent authorities under the Ministries of the Environment. The aim of the EPPO Council Colloquium in Dublin was to examine these areas of potential overlap and conflict and consider the consequences for the international organizations concerned with plant health (like EPPO) and for the NPPOs.     

Towards sustainable performance of urban horticulture: ten challenging fields of action for modern integrated pest management in cities

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - We identified ten current key challenges for plant protection in cities each of them belonging to a specific field of action of IPM in urban horticulture...     

New plant protection information system in Hungary*

Data on the occurrence and spread of pests has been supplied by the Hungarian Plant Protection Organization for over 40 years. Since the 1970s, this service has been operated by the central station and the 20 county stations of the Plant Protection Organization. Data recorded on pest occurrence and developmental stage of pests and plants has been used to run a forecasting system at local and national levels. However, because of significant staff reductions in the Plant Protection Organization and the disappearance of independent forecasting groups, the reliability of the system, which was based on very specific data, has decreased. It has become necessary to develop a more reliable and flexible computer‐aided system (Plant Protection Information System, PPIS), better adjusted to the political and economic changes that have occurred. A major element of the new system, introduced in 1997, is that excessively detailed recording was replaced by a more practical general approach with fewer subjective errors. Specialists from the county stations of the Plant Protection Organization monitor infestation levels of 73 pests in 20 crops using five qualification categories. The results obtained are input into the PPIS program, which processes them into user‐friendly charts and maps showing the plant health situation in each county and in the country as a whole, as a basis for taking decisions on plant protection measures.     

Technical review of the EPPO Workshop on Application Technology in Plant Protection1

The presentations. discussions and exhibition of equipment of the EPPO Workshop on Application Technology in Plant Protection were orientated towards field sprayers. air-assisted sprayers. pedestrian equipment, and aerial applications. An evaluation of this equipment is given here on the basis of six criteria: general remarks. quality of application. contamination of the environment/operator exposure, EPPO/EU/national difkrences, innovations, need for future action. There are some deficiencies in the generally accepted rules for the application of plant protection products. Correcting these could be a task for technical experts from EPPO countries in future.     

植保无人飞机施用农药应用研究进展及管理现状

植保无人飞机是现代植保施药机械,具有作业效率高、精准、节水省药、灵活机动和对施药人员安全等特点,然而,与传统施药方式不同,其用水量少,喷施农药浓度高,喷雾易飘移,存在潜在的应用风险。目前关于植保无人飞机施药应用研究主要集中在雾滴沉积分布、飘移影响因素和防治效果评价等领域,有关其在膳食风险、环境风险和职业暴露健康风险评估等方面研究较少,且药剂登记和管理标准法规等相对滞后。为全面了解植保无人飞机施药应用以及管理现状,本文综述了植保无人飞机施药应用、风险研究及国际航空植保农药登记管理情况,总结了我国在该领域发展潜力和管理建议,以期为我国植保无人飞机安全施用农药和登记科学管理提供参考。     

Implementation of an ISO 17025 flexible scope in the phytosanitary field at the National Reference Centre in the Netherlands

Quality systems in plant health laboratories are common these days. Most of these laboratories are accredited under a fixed scope, but because of the high diversity of organism–matrix combinations tested yearly in phytosanitary laboratories, the National Reference Centre (NRC) of the National Plant Protection Organization in the Netherlands chose to implement a phytosanitary focused flexible scope, the Phytoflex scope. This allows for the inclusion of additional activities in its scope of accreditation, without prior evaluation by the accreditation body. One of the reasons to implement a flexible scope was the initiation of the Official Control Regulation by the European Union, which states that official laboratories in plant health should be accredited according to ISO/IEC 17025 for all methods used when working as an official laboratory. The quality management system of the NRC is the foundation of the Phytoflex scope. The results of diagnoses given are based on the pillars Validation, Expertise and Assurance. Before the implementation of the Phytoflex scope in 2014, the scope only covered six tests for a combination of organism and matrix. As a result of the introduction of the Phytoflex scope, the number of organisms that are covered under ISO 17025 accreditation at the NRC has increased from six to almost 90 in November 2019. Management of the Phytoflex scope demands high awareness of quality systems for personnel and management, and puts more responsibility on the laboratory. If the different aspects of management of the scope are not accurately organized, the flexible scope may be revoked by the accreditation body. The Phytoflex scope makes it possible to act more quickly to add tests for new and emerging risks to the accreditation. However, this is not possible for all tests and further discussions are required to fulfil the accreditation requirement from the Official Control Regulation.     

Authorization requirements for organisms as plant protection products in Austria

In Austria, beneficial arthropods and entomopathogenic nematodes ('macrobials'), as well as micro-organisms and viruses, are classified as active substances of plant protection products, according to the Federal Law on Transactions with Plant Protection Products which entered into force in 1991. Therefore, naturally occurring organisms, intended for use in the field of plant protection, must be authorized as plant protection products before they are permitted to be sold. Requirements for the authorization of macrobials, micro-organisms and viruses and the authorities involved are presented. The legislative regulations for the use of macrobials, micro-organisms and viruses as plant protection products are described. At the beginning of 1996, 35 plant protection products containing 21 different organisms have been authorized in Austria for use in agriculture, horticulture and forestry.     

Organization of Plant Protection in Norway and Research Orientation1

Research in the various crop protection disciplines is carried out at the Central Norwegian Plant Protection Institute near Oslo: it includes studies on pesticide efficacy, problems of uptake, breakdown and residues. This agency is further in charge of the extension of practical knowledge and has a supervising capacity for the Plant Inspection Service. Some of the various problems which are of major concern for Norway are reviewed and ways for a proper integration of chemical and alternative methods studied.     

Principles for regulatory testing and interpretation of semi-field and field studies with non-target arthropods

This paper is a guidance document for side-effect testing with plant protection products on non-target arthropods under semi-field and field conditions. The principles, methods, endpoints and interpretation of non-target arthropod semi-field and field trials which should be conducted for registration of plant protection products in the European Union are presented and discussed. The recommendations presented reflect the opinions of the experts from authority, academia, industry and consulting which participated at the IOBC (International Organisation of Biological Control), BART (Beneficial Arthropod Regulatory Testing) group and EPPO (European Plant Protection Organisation) Joint Initiative workshop held in Versailles (France) on the 25–26 October, 1999.