This document discusses regulatory plant pathology and the spread of plant diseases globally. It summarizes several plant diseases and insects that have spread between continents due to global trade and movement of plant materials. It then outlines the various international, regional, federal, and state organizations that regulate the movement of plants and plant pests, including the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and the North American Plant Protection Organization (NAPPO). It also provides details on regulations in the US, the Plant Protection Act, and the roles of the USDA and Department of Homeland Security in inspecting imports and preventing the introduction of invasive plant pests.

1. Regulatory Plant Pathology

2. The problem: significant geographic barriers to gene flow between
continents has shaped the evolution of contemporary biota

3. Global Commerce has been eliminating those barriers

4. Pangea reunited in the Homogenocene?

5. Plant Diseases that have been spread by movement of plant material:
Diseases
White pine blister rust
Chestnut blight
Dutch elm disease
Dogwood anthracnose
Pitch Canker
Port Orford cedar root disease
Sudden oak death
Insects:
Asian gypsy moth
Asian longhorn beetle
Citrus longhorn beetle
Emerald ash borer
Sirex noctilio
+ numerous coleoptera

6. Who Regulates Movement of Plants and Plant Pests?
International
IPPC: International Plant Protection Convention
Regional
IPPC Regional Organizations
NAPPO: North American Plant Protection Organization
EPPO: European Plant Protection Organization
SAPPO: South American Plant Protection Organization
Federal
USDA APHIS-PPQ
National Plant Board
State
State Departments of Agriculture
State and Regional Plant Boards

7. Perspectives
!! State regulators
–! Oregon Department of
Agriculture
–! Other State Ag
Departments
!! Federal regulators
–! USDA Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service
(APHIS)
"! Plant Protection and
Quarantine (PPQ)
–! Home Land Security
"! Customs and Border
Protection
Pitch Canker in Monterey,
CA!

8. International Plant Protection Convention, IPPC
Administered by United Nations FAO
Established 1952
Concern about international regulation of
plant pests began with potato late blight
1845-1860, grape Phylloxera introduction to
Europe from North America, 1881
IPPC established 1952
Currently 177 member nations
Phytosanitary Agreement (1989) authorizes the IPPC to provide international
standards for phytosanitary measures implemented by governments to
protect their plant resources from harmful pests, while ensuring that these
measures are justified and are not used as unjustified barriers to international
trade.

9. IPPC: 1997 Revision of International Plant Protection Convention
MISSION:
Development of international standards for phytosanitary measures (ISPMs)
Exchange of official information in terms of obligations under the IPPC
Capacity building / technical assistance to facilitate the implementation of the
IPPC
#!Reviews the state of plant protection around the world;
#!Identifies action to control the spread of pests into new areas;
#!Develops and adopts international standards;
#!Establishes rules and procedures for resolving disputes;
#!Establishes rules and procedures for the sharing of phytosanitary
information;
#!Cooperates with international organizations on matters covered by the
Convention
IPPC functions through national plant protection organizations, NPPOs
Enforcement is by each member country according to its specific statutes

10. International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) is an international
treaty whose purpose is to secure a common and effective action to
prevent the spread and introduction of pests of plants and plant
products, and to promote appropriate measures for their control.

11. The NPPO of the exporting country has the
sole authority to undertake phytosanitary
certification and should establish a
management system to deal with the
legislative and administrative requirements.
The NPPO undertakes operational
responsibilities, including sampling and
inspection of plants, plant products and
other regulated articles; detection and
identification of pests; surveillance of crops;
performance of treatments; and
establishing and maintaining a record-
keeping system.

12. The phytosanitary certificates are the
documentary assurance that the
phytosanitary certification process as
described under the IPPC has been
undertaken. The model phytosanitary
certificates as described in the Annex to
the IPPC should be used.

13. NPPOs should, when performing pest risk
analysis, base it on biological or other
scientific and economic evidence, following
the relevant ISPMs (international standards
for phytosanitary measures). In doing this,
threats to biodiversity resulting from
effects on plants should also be taken into
account.

14. The taxonomic identity of the organism should be specified because any biological and
other information used should be relevant to the organism in question. If the
organism has not yet been fully named or described, then, to be determined as a
pest, it should at least have been shown to be identifiable, consistently to produce
injury to plants or plant products (e.g. symptoms, reduced growth rate, yield loss or
any other damage) and to be transmissible or able to disperse.
Risk assessments are a key component of international phytosanitary regulation

16. NAPPO Mission and Strategic Goals
“Provide a forum for public and private sectors in Canada, the United
States and Mexico to collaborate in the development of science-based
standards intended to protect agricultural, forest and other plant resources
against regulated plant pests, while facilitating trade. Participate in related
international cooperative efforts.”
Strategic Goals :
Protecting Plant Resources and the Environment
Capacity Building
Communicating Results
Building partnerships
An effective Dispute Settlement Mechanism
Sound Management Practices
A Stable Funding Base
Regional Plant Protection Organizations: NAPPO

17. Regional Plant Protection Organizations: NAPPO

18. Federal agencies
!! USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service PPQ
–! Write federal regulations
"! Controls the import & export of plants to prevent spread of
pests
"! Applies to pests exotic to the U.S.
"! Protects the U.S. & its territories
"! Regulates country-to-country and state-to-state movement
–! Federal regulations supercede state regulations
–! Management plans for established exotic pests
!! Department of Homeland Security CPB
–! Inspections at borders and ports of entry
–! Inspects incoming shipments, international trade

19. APHIS-PPQ is the NPPO of the USA
APHIS-PPQ Mission:
safeguard agriculture and natural resources from the entry, establishment, and
spread of animal and plant pests and noxious weeds into the United States of
America; and supports trade and exports of U.S. agricultural products.
APHIS-PPQ Regulates international movements of plants, plant products and
plant pests between the USA and other countries and regulates interstate
movements of plants and plant pests.
Federal Agencies
USDA-APHIS-PPQ, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant
Protection and Quarantine Program

20. Federal Statutory Authority for Regulation of Plant Pests:
Plant Quarantine Act of 1912
enacted after dual disasters:
white pine blister rust ca. 1905 (eastern USA)
chestnut blight ca. 1906
Quarantine #1 restricted importation of 5 needle pine
Additional quarantines imposed on importation of Ribes
spp.
Plant Protection Act of 2000
Supercedes and repeals most of Plant Quarantine Act
Consolidates regulation of plant pests, noxious weeds,
biological control organisms
The PPA gives the Secretary of Agriculture, and through delegated authority,
USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the ability to
prohibit or restrict the importation, exportation, and the interstate movement of
plants, plant products, certain biological control organisms, noxious weeds, and
plant pests.

22. PLANT PEST.—The term ‘‘plant pest’’ means any living stage of any of
the following that can directly or indirectly injure, cause damage to, or
cause disease in any plant or plant product:
(A) A protozoan.
(B) A nonhuman animal.
(C) A parasitic plant.
(D) A bacterium.
(E) A fungus.
(F) A virus or viroid.
(G) An infectious agent or other pathogen.
(H) Any article similar to or allied with any of the
articles specified in the preceding subparagraphs.
Plant Protection Act of 2000 Definitions

23. 1. Publishing a public notice describing procedures and standards for import requests;
2. Conducting a study outlining the role and application of systems approaches associated
with proposals to import plants and plant products;
3. Establishing uniform procedures for conducting warrantless inspections;
4. Developing guidelines for the issuance of subpoenas;
5. Creating guidelines for the standardization of civil penalties that will be applied
consistently nationwide for specific violations;
6. Establishing internal procedures for cost recovery of expenses related to the disposal of
smuggled or illegal agricultural products that are abandoned after APHIS takes regulatory
action at U.S. ports of entry;
7. Soliciting public comment at regional public meetings on a concept paper prior to
publication of a proposed rule for noxious weeds; and
8. Publishing regulations for the movement of biological control organisms.
Civil Penalties and Subpoena Power
The PPA increases civil penalties to a maximum of $50,000
However, the maximum of $1,000 remains for first-time offenders carrying an agricultural
product through U.S. ports of entry for personal use only.
Any business or group violating the PPA can now be fined a maximum of $250,000 and
no more than $500,000 per adjudication.
APHIS Authorities under PPA 2000

24. !! DHS/USDA inspect all shipments of most
agricultural commodities
!! Inspection rigor based on local & national
experience (alerts & policy)
!! Trend analysts monitor interceptions &
pathways of top priority exotic pests
Cargo inspection
Risk Assessment
Lists of quarantine pests
Identification
APHIS uses several approaches for preventing entry of plant pests

25. Pest Interceptions
!! Interceptions:
Organisms found during
inspections of imported
commodities or with
international travelers,
conveyances, in mail,
etc. Significant
interceptions are those
classified as quarantine,
plant pests.
!! Priority for identification:
Urgent, Routine

26. Area Identifiers
!! Located at medium-large
ports & some universities
!! 3 disciplines: entomology, botany,
pathology
!! Some multidisciplinary
(Pathology/botany)
!! Coverage:
–! Local port
–! Nearby States
–! Selected foreign sites
(preclearance)

27. The National Plant Board is a non-profit organization of the plant pest
regulatory agencies of each of the states and Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
NPB was formed in 1925
Members of the NPB represent the plant regulatory agencies of all 50 states
and Puerto Rico
Works cooperatively with APHIS-PPQ and other federal agencies (USDA Forest
Service, ARS) and state commercial operators to prevent the entry of new
pests and diseases into the country.
Four regional Plant Boards (Eastern, Central, Southern, Western) coordinate
regional plant pest regulation.

28. Purposes of the National Plant Board as stated in its constitution include:
1. To represent the regional plant boards at the national level and to carry out instructions
issued by the regional plant boards.
2. To bring out greater uniformity and efficiency in the promulgation and enforcement of
plant quarantines and plant inspection polices and practices in the various states.
3. To act as a national clearing-house for information in plant quarantines and plant
inspection polices and procedures.
4. To promote harmony and uniformity in the field of plant pest regulation.
5. To maintain contacts with the United States Department of Agriculture and other federal
and state agencies concerning quarantine policies that have national, regional or individual
state effects.

29. The protection of the growing
filbert industry of the Pacific coast
has to depend, therefore, upon the
effective enforcement of the
exisitng regulations which prohibit
the importation of plants, cuttings,
or other propagative material of
either the American wild hazel or
the cultivated filbert from the
territory included within the range
of Corylus americana.
Eastern Filbert Blight Quarantine 1921
H. P. Barss of OSU, former Botany and Plant Pathology Chair
Argued before the western plant board for a quarantine against movement of
American wild hazel (C. americana) or European hazels (filbert) from the
territory included within the natural range of the native C. americana

30. Plant Pest Regulatory Agencies
State Departments of Agriculture, Natural Resources, Plant Industry
etc
Interstate Coordination
National Plant Board
Regional and National Organization of State Plant Regulatory Agencies
State Plant Protection Agencies

31. Regulatory Plant Pathology
!! Protection
–! Federal quarantines
–! State quarantines
–! Control area orders
–! Administrative
directives
!! Protect & Enhance
–! Survey & Detection
–! Control & eradication
–! Certification Sudden oak death, Kent Lake,
CA (photo by S. Frankel)

32. Protection
!! State Level:
–! Quarantines
–! Control area orders
–! Administrative
directives
!! Federal Level:
–! Quarantines
–! Management Plans

33. State quarantine
!! Controls the import & export of plants to
prevent the spread of pests to Oregon
!! Applies to pests exotic to Oregon
!! Done at the request of industry or other
agency (Regional or National Plant Board)
!! Prevent spread from state to state &/or
county to county
!! Does not apply to other countries

34. Identifying a
quarantine
pest
Biotic Agent
Pest Elsewhere
LIkely to enter
Natural spread possible
Not present Present
Could establish
Economic impact likely
Quarantinable pest
Limited distribution
Officially controlled
Quarantinable pest

35. When is a state quarantine written?
Legislature
Fee-based inspection program
Quarantine or CAO written
Consensus
No quarantine or CAO
No Consensus
Advisory committee formed
Request is made

36. Federal quarantine
Chrysanthemum white rust:
!! Caused by Puccinia horiana
!! Deforms and stunts infected plants
!! Teliospores can infect mums 0.25 - 0.5 mi away
!! Native to China & Japan
!! Established in FL, EU, AUS, SAm, & AFR

37. State quarantine
Sudden oak death:
!! Caused by Phytophthora
ramorum
!! First reported in Europe in 1993,
CA in 1995, OR in 2001
!! Attacks >60 hosts in >15 plant
families
!! Spreads via rain-splash, plant
material, soil
!! Origin unknown
!! Affects both natural resouces
and agricultural commodity
plants
Infected tan oak!

38. Continuing Quarantine for SOD?
Potential responses:
!! Maintain quarantine
–! protect against new
races
–! protect from further
introductions
!! Change quarantine
to CAO
!! Official control
program
!! Drop quarantine
Infected Douglas fir
(photo by D. Rizzo)!

39. Oregon s response in Curry County
Oregon opted to:
!! Maintain quarantine
!! Place infection
centers under
quarantine
!! Attempt eradication
–! Administrative
directives issued
"! Hosts destroyed
"! Sites monitored for 2-yr Photo by F. Arnold!

40. Federal quarantine for SOD
!! Adopted 2/14/02
!! Controls movement of
host materials from
quarantined areas
–! Certification program
!! Supercedes ODA s
quarantine
China Camp State Park, CA!

41. SOD in Nursery Stock
!! Nursery Inspection
program
!! May be a regulatory
incident or interception
!! Interception
–! Return to sender
–! Destroy
–! Maintain quarantine
!! Incident
–! Destroy
–! Detective work
–! Maintain quarantine
Infected Viburnum
bodnantense!

42. Control area order
!! Applies to diseases
already established in
Oregon
!! Imposed to limit &/or
slows the spread of
the disease
!! Done at the request of
industry
!! Requires inspection
by ODA
Dwarf Mistletoe on Monterey
Pine!

43. Federal management plan
!! For pests already
established in US
(e.g., gypsy moth)
!! Goal is to slow spread
–! Survey & detection
–! Control efforts in
infested states
–! Eradication in non-
infested states
Before
GM
After GM

44. GM federal management plan
Lymantria dispar
!! State coordinates
activities
!! Survey and detection
–! Trapping program
–! Visual inspections
!! Eradication
–! Spray program (Btk)
–! Monitor for 2-yr after
treatment
Gypsy moth egg masses

45. Survey & detection programs
Plum Pox Virus:
!! Virus certification program
!! Various symptoms,
reduces fruit value
!! Spread by aphids, in
infected plants
!! Established in EU, reported
in CAN & Pennsylvania
!! Eradication underway in
U.S.
Photo courtesy of Penn State!

46. Imported timber inspections
!! Protect Oregon timber
and agricultural
interests from exotic
pests
!! Monitor pathway for
entry
–! Untreated logs &
lumber
–! Untreated SWPM
!! Fee-based program

47. Control & eradication program
Dutch elm disease:
!! Caused by Ophiostoma ulmi and O.
novo-ulmi
!! Causes tree mortality
!! State quarantine supports county/city
programs
!! Established in five counties & all
states except AK, AZ, FL, HI, LA, NV,
NM, UT, & WA

48. CAO to enhance value
Rapeseed (canola)
production
!! Produced for food, industrial, &
seed markets
–! Oilseed quality
–! Oilseed purity
!! Limit or prevent cross-
pollination
!! Industry/grower support
required
!! ODA s role is limited

49. Certification programs
!! Grass seed
certification
–! Nematodes
–! Fungi
–! Debris
!! Endophyte
certification
!! Vegetable seed
certification
!! Mint certification
!! Virus-free certification

50. Mint certification
Verticillium on mint
!! CAO is for any Verticillium spp.
!! Causes stunting, twisting & curling of upper
leaves, & eventually death
!! Issue phytosanitary certificates for clean
plants
!! Inspect plants not eligible for OSU
certification

51. Grass seed certification
Anguina agrostis (Nematode)
!! Found only on Agrostis spp.
!! Causes galls on flowers and is a vector for
Corynebacterium (Rathayibacter) rathyi
(bacterial head blight of orchardgrass)
!! Seed-borne
!! Found in GER, UK, AUS, NZ, Scandinavia,
US, CAN, and RUS
!! International quarantines for this pest

52. USDA RECALLS INDIAN PINE CONES
WASHINGTON, Dec. 19, 2003--The U.S. Department of
Agriculture s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is
announcing a national recall on pine cones originating in India.
Recent imports of these pine cones have been found to contain
serious quarantine pests warranting the removal of these items from
store shelves.
The infested pine cones have been found in Frank s Nursery, K-
mart, Target, Walmart, JoAnn Fabrics, Lowe s, Dollar Tree and
Safeway stores nationwide. The recall applies to items with the
following UPC codes:
The Safety Net Leaks

53. Regardless of risk assessment and port inspections, introductions of new and
damaging plant pests continue to occur

54. Haack 2006. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 36:269-288
Data from USDA APHIS Port Information Network

55. McCullough et al 2006. Biological Invasions 6:611-630
Data from USDA APHIS Port Information Network

56. Data from USDA APHIS Port Information Network
Haack 2006. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 36:269-288

57. McCullough et al 2006. Biological Invasions 6:611-630
Data from USDA APHIS Port Information Network

58. McCullough et al 2006. Biological Invasions 6:611-630
Data from USDA APHIS Port Information Network

59. There are lots of undiscovered microbes, insects etc that have potential to cause
damage in a new environment or on a new host
Phytophthora pinifolia in Chile, 2006
What about organisms that are unknown, undetectable by visual
inspection, not currently on quarantine lists?

60. 15-Mayo- 2007

61. Problems with Regulatory Pathology as Currently Practiced
•! Reliance on species lists of identified pests
•! Emphasis on systems approach in risk mitigation: assumes
combinations of partially effective risk reduction measures are
additive
•! Reliance on risk models with high uncertainties
•! Reliance on exporters for compliance
•! Reliance on inspections to detect noncompliance
•! Border protection emphasizes bioterroism, not biosecurity
•! Conflicting mission: protect agriculture and natural resouces
and facilitate commerce
•! Reluctance to impose penalties other than loss of commodity
•! It has not worked very well, has it?
•! Based on sound science ?

62. Preventing Exotic Pathogen Threats to Forests - A Sideways
Scientific Look
Clive Brasier
We have a prevention system that is
Systematic
International
Well regulated and policed
Nonetheless, Sudden Oak Death is just another symptom of a
historical problem
Although the current system of prevention is often excellently and
expertly carried out by regulatory agencies
- The system cannot succeed, because it is not yet properly science
based.

63. Biological weaknesses
List dependent. Essentially a list system derived from
'Noahs ark' and from Linnaean systematics and routinely
based on the morphospecies (pathogen looks like x -
therefore it is x), not the species and genotypes of
modern population biology. Leaves both legal and
identification loopholes.

64. Non Darwinian. Not yet caught up with 1850s
science. Evolutionary theory warns us that the
greatest threat is from organisms that have evolved
in 'other' biogeographical zones, but have not yet
escaped and so are still 'waiting' to cause serious
damage on new hosts. These threats need to be
anticipated.

65. Reactive not proactive. The present schedules, however,
tend to cover mainly those pathogens that have already
escaped outside their original evolutionary zone and are
already causing noticeable damage on new (non co-
evolved) hosts as they spread (DED, Chestnut blight,
Pinewood nematode, Plane wilt, Cypress canker,
Dogwood anthracnose...).

66. Structural rigidity. Present system, being largely list, not process,
driven may lack the flexibility to embrace major new risk processes
related to or even arising directly from it, including:
Trojan horse syndrome: Fungistatic compounds widely used by
plant trade temporarily mask disease symptoms on exported stock.
Promotes effective spread of exotic pathogens (SOD? Includes many
exotic Phytophthoras).
Typhoid Mary syndrome: Non-host carriers. Organisms threatening
to forests are exported on apparently innocuous plant 'carriers'. (cf
Rhododendrons and SOD). A classic Darwinian scenario (no evolved
resistance in the threatened tree hosts)
Hybridisation syndrome: Rapid evolution of new hybrid pathogens
and new diseases is promoted by the present trade structure. These
hybrids are neither detected, nor properly covered by the current
system.

67. Market forces and policy
Weakest link. Within multi-state ecopoltical units such as the EU, the
system may operate at the level of weakest state, which promotes risk. This
is the very antithesis of how living organisms evolved to restrict the spread
of diseases via multiple compartments or 'fire walls' ie it is a non-Darwinian
structure.
Non-Keynesian. System not 'responsible economics' based. Lacks central
environmental Keynesian principle that 'polluter pay'. Therefore- no
feedback loop on the economic or the regulatory system.
Institutionalisation. A lack of market pressure in favour of progressive and
sustainable bioprotection policy can allow markets and regulators to become
entrenched and conservative. Become part of the problem, not part of the
solution? (Fisheries protection issues come to mind)
Nelsonian approach. A consequence of defensiveness from regulators over
unspoken weaknesses of a system can be resistance to policy changes and to
strategic thinking. And resistance to funding of research that could further
expose the weaknesses. Better - inaction or avoidance: "I see no risks..."

68. Effective intelligence and scientific insight are our
first line of defence.
Globally and locally correct regulatory protocols,
based on these insights, are our second.
Clive Brasier
Emeritus Mycologist, Forest Research Agency,
Farnham, Surrey GU10 4LH, UK;
clive.brasier@forestry.gsi.gov.uk

69. American Chestnut: the shrub that used to be a tree

70. Chestnut Blight

71. 1950
1940
1930
1914
1904
1909
Range of American Chestnut and Spread of
Chestnut Blight 1905 - 1950
Range of American Chestnut
3.6 million hectares
Rate of spread ca 37 km/yr

72. 100 years before SOD…

73. White pine blister rust top kill
stem canker with
aecia
Alternate host Ribes spp.

74. 1705 Pinus strobus introduced to Europe
Blister rust found in Estonia in 1854, Finland 1861, Germany 1865, Denmark 1883.
Established throughout Europe by 1900.
Geneva, NY in 1906 traced to nurseries in Germany and France
Vancouver, BC 1921, from P. strobus seedlings from France, 1910
1705
1854
1865
1883
1906
1910
Siberian stone pine

75. Spread of White
Pine Blister Rust in
Western North
America 1910-1998
WPBR spread in
episodic pulses
(wave years)
1925
1925
1953
1953
1966
1966
1998
1998
1910

76. Port-Orford Cedar killed by Phytophthora lateralis

77. Spread of Phytophthora lateralis 1923 - 1995
1923
1952
1960
1980
1995

78. Sirex noctilio and Amylosterum areolatum
Some recent detections:
New York Feb 2005
Indiana, July 2002

79. Sirex damage to Monterey Pine

80. Mycangia of Sirex noctilio
Amylostereum basidiocarp

81. C.M. Brasier 2001Biosicence 51:123-133