1 **United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service**  **Plant Protection and Quarantine**



## Importation of fresh edible flowers of Izote ( **Yucca guatemalensis**  **Baker) into the continental United States from Guatemala**  **Risk Management Document**

**September 6**  **, 20 12** 

**Plant Health Programs (PHP) R**  **egulations, Permits and Manuals (**  **R P**  **M )**  **Contact Person: Claudia Ferguson** 2

**Introduction** In response to a request for market access to import fresh flowers of i zote ( Yucca gu atemalensis Baker) from Guatemala in to the c ontinental United States , the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHI S) prepared a pest risk assessment (PRA) as per the Guidelines for Pathway -Initiated Pest Risk Assessment (USDA , 20 00 ) . The pest risk assessment document, Importation of Fresh Edible Flowers of Izote ( Yucca guatemalensis Baker ) into the Continental United States from Guatemala , found one quarantine pest of Iz ote in Central America that may follow the pathway (USDA. 20 12 ) . The PRA determined the likelihood of introduction and consequences of introduction for the gray pineapple mealy

bug ( Dysmicoccus neobrevipes Beardsley) and determined that the risk rating for this pest should be **Medium** . For medium rated pests, the port of entry inspection to which all imported commodities are subjected to m ay be expected to provide sufficient phy tosanitary security (USDA, 2000). The mealy bug Dysmicoccus neobrevipes is frequently intercepted on imported commodities by APHI S and is currently

established in Florida and Hawaii (Miller & Miller, 2002). **Risk Management Measures for**  **Dysmicoccus neobrevipes** The following risk management measures must be followed for izote from Guatemala to be i mported into the United States:

 Iz ote must be imported as commercial shipments only .  Each consignment of i zote must be inspected by the National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO ) in Guatemala and accompanied by a phy tosanitary certificate (PC) issued by NPPO of the e xporting country stating that the i zote in the consignment has been inspected and is free of pests.

 Each shipment is subject to inspection upon arrival at port of entry to the United States. **Efficacy of Risk Management Measures**  APHI S will only

allow com mercial shipments of i zote and will conduct port of entry inspections. Risk mitigations for this commodity and the medium rated pest will also include an inspection by the NPPO and phy

tosanitary certificate indicating that the commodity has been inspected and no pests are present. The inspection in the country of origin will lower the probability that any mealy bugs will follow the pathway of fresh izote flowers. Currently APHI S inspects for this mealy bug and considers this to be adequate in mitigating ri sk for this external feed er . For example smooth cay enne pineapples from Hawaii may enter the continental United States with pre - departure inspection by APHI S , and pineapples are a favored host for this mealy bug (Miller & Miller, 2002) .3

**Conclusion** APHI S believes that the phy tosanitary measures proposed in this document will result in the effective removal of any potential quarantine pests associated with the importation of fresh izote from Guatemala . Only one pest , the mealy bug Dysmicoccus neobrevipes whose risk was rated medium , w as identified by the pest risk assessment as following the pathway of fresh flowers of izote . In spection is considered effective at finding external feeding pests and excluding infested shipments from entering commerce ( Cavey , 2003 ; Wittenberg & Cock, 2001 ). The NPPO of Guatemala has agreed to inspect the izote for quarantine pests and issue a phy tosanitary certificate stating that they are free of pests. **Author** Walter P. Gould Senior Risk Manager Jose R. Hernandez Senior Risk Manager **References:** Cavey , J.F. 2003. Mitigating introduction of invasive plant pests: the APHI S - PPQ Mission. From: Chapter 13, pp. 350 - 361 in Ruiz, G.M and J.T. Carlton. 2003. Invasive species: vectors and management strategies. I sland Press, Washington, D.C. 518p. Miller, G. L . and D. R. Miller. 2002. Dysmicoccus Ferris and similar genera (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Pseudococcidae) of the gulf state region including a description of a new species and new United States records. Proc. Entomol. Soc. Wash. 104: 968 - 979. USDA. 2000. Guidelines for Pathway - In itiated Pest Risk Assessments, Version 5.02. USDA APHI S, PPQ . Permits and Risk Assessment . Commodity Risk Analy sis Branch . 30 pp. USDA. 20 12 . Importation of fresh edible flowers o f I zote ( Yucca guatemalensis Baker) into the Continental United States from Guatemala . A Pathway - In itiated Pest Risk Assessment. USDA, APHI S, CPHST, PERAL , Raleigh, NC. 20pp. Wittenberg, R. and M.J.W. Cock. 2001. Invasive Alien Species: A toolkit of best prevention and management practices. CABI publishing, CAB International, Wallingford, Oxon, UK. 228 pp.