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United States Department of Agriculture

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Plant Protection and Quarantine

Importation of fresh apricot (Prunus 

armeniaca), sweet cherry (Prunus avium), and 

plumcot (Prunus domestica x Prunus 

armeniaca) fruit from South Africa into the 

continental United States

Risk Management Document

March 8, 2011

V. 009

Plant Health Programs (PHP)

Regulations, Permits, and Manuals (RPM)

Contact Person: Dorothy.C.Wayson@aphis.usda.gov
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A. Introduction

The Government of South Africa (RSA) requested to import fresh apricot (Prunus 

armeniaca L.), sweet cherry (Prunus avium (L.) L.), and plumcot (Prunus domestica L. x

Prunus armeniaca L.) fruit from South Africa into the continental United States. Neither 

fresh apricot, sweet cherry, or plumcot have been imported from RSA before, so a 

pathway-initiated risk assessment was conducted by United States Department of 

Agriculture (USDA)’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). A list of 

associated quarantine pests for these commodities was prepared based on both scientific 

literature and APHIS’ records of intercepted pests. The Pest Risk Assessment, entitled

“Importation of fresh apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.), sweet cherry (Prunus avium (L.)

L.), and plumcot (Prunus domestica x Prunus armeniaca) fruit from South Africa into 

the continental United States” (USDA, 2009), identified five quarantine pests that could 

follow the pathway of commercial consignments of these fruits (USDA 2007a). Table 1 

below provides a summary of these pests along with the commodities they are associated 

with and their risk potentials. 

Table 1. Quarantine pests, commodity they are associated with and their risk potentials

Quarantine Pest

Apricot

(Prunus 

armeniaca)

Sweet Cherry

(Prunus 

avium)

Plumcot

(Prunus domestica x

Prunus armeniaca)

Risk 

Potential

Ceratitis capitata

(Wiedemann)

(Medfly)

x x x High

Ceratitis quinaria

(Bezzi)

x x High

Ceratitis rosa

(Karsch) (Natal fruit 

fly)

x x High

Macchiademus 

diplopterus (Distant)

(Chinch bug)

x x Medium

Thaumatotibia

leucotreta (Meyrick)

(False codling moth)

x x High

Currently apricots are admissible from Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Haiti, Israel, Mexico, 

Morocco, New Zealand and Zimbabwe, cherries are admissible from Argentina, 

Australia, Chile, Mexico and New Zealand, and plumcots are admissible from Chile 

(https://manuals.cphst.org/q56/Summaries/ProductSummariesMain.cfm). The apricots, 

cherries and plumcots, collectively or individually, are also referred to as stone fruits in 

this document.

Per the Guidelines for Pathway-Initiated Pest Risk Assessment (USDA. 2000), for pests 
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assigned medium or higher risk potential, phytosanitary measures beyond port-of-entry 

inspections are recommended. The proposed importation of apricots, cherries, and 

plumcots from South Africa, if approved, would be authorized under 7 CFR § 319.56-4 

of the regulations and listed in the Plant Protection and Quarantine Fruits and Vegetables 

Import Requirements (FAVIR) manual available at 

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/favir/info.shtml. This document outlines the phytosanitary 

measures that APHIS will require if the proposed importation of the requested fresh stone

fruits from South Africa into the continental United States is approved, and provides the 

evidence used by APHIS to conclude that these measures will effectively prevent the 

introduction of the quarantine pests. 

B. Risk Mitigation Measures

For apricots and plumcots: APHIS proposes that fresh apricot and plumcot fruit

from South Africa may be imported into the continental United States under the 

following conditions: 

(a) The fruit must be cold treated for the fruit flies (Ceratitis spp.) and the false 

codling moth (Thaumatotibia leucotreta) using APHIS treatment schedule T107-e

in accordance with Title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (7 CFR), part 305. 

(b) Each consignment of fruit must be accompanied by a Phytosanitary Certificate

(PC) issued by the National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO) of South 

Africa with an Additional Declaration (AD) that would state that the fruit was 

inspected and found free of Macchiademus diplopterus.

(c) Each consignment is subject to inspection upon arrival in the United States. 

(d) The fruit must be a commercial consignment as defined in 7 CFR § 319.56-2.

For sweet cherries: APHIS proposes that fresh cherry fruit from South Africa may 

be imported into the continental United States under the following conditions: 

(a) The fruit must be cold treated for Medfly using APHIS treatment schedule T107-a

in accordance with Title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (7 CFR), part 305. 

(b) Each consignment of fruit must be accompanied by a Phytosanitary Certificate 

issued by the National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO) of South Africa.

(c) Each consignment is subject to inspection upon arrival in the United States. 

(d) The fruit must be a commercial consignment as defined in 7 CFR § 319.56-2.

The above conditions would be listed in the FAVIR manual. In addition to these specific 

measures, the fruit would be subject to the general requirements listed in 7 CFR § 

319.56-3 that are applicable to the importation of all fruits and vegetables. The treatment 
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schedules are further described below and located at the following website: 

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/plants/manuals/ports/downloads/treatment.pdf

C. Evidence for the Effective Removal of Pests of Concern from the 

Pathway

The measures described in Section B would effectively remove the pests of concern from 

the stone fruits pathway. The FAO (2007) defines “pathway” as “Any means that allows 

the entry or spread of a pest.” 

Fruit flies and false codling moth:

Treatment T107-a is an APHIS-approved cold treatment for fresh cherry fruit against

Ceratitis capitata and C. rosa, and has been effectively used for over 40 years to treat 

commodities including cherries imported into the United States. This treatment requires

schedules of 34°F for 14 days, 35°F for 16 days, or 36° for 18 days. Likewise, treatment 

T107-e is an APHIS-approved cold treatment for citrus and stonefruits including apricots, 

nectarines, peaches and plums against false codling moth (Thaumatotibia leucotreta) and 

Natal fruit fly (C. rosa), and has been effectively used to treat these commodities to meet 

U.S. entry requirements. This treatment schedule prescribes the temperature of 31°F for 

22 days. Although the treatment T107-e is not specifically approved for Medfly or C. 

quinaria, it is more stringent than T107-a or any other cold treatment approved for fruit 

flies. Therefore APHIS considers T107-e to be adequate for both the Medfly and C. 

quinaria, with the latter being less cold-tolerant than the Medfly (Komm 2008, pers. 

comm.). Though plumcot is not listed among commodities that this treatment is 

approved for, plumcot is a hybrid of plum and apricot, and T107-e is an approved 

treatment for both of the parents. Therefore APHIS agrees that plumcots can be 

effectively treated with this treatment to mitigate risks from all fruit flies and the false 

codling moth (Komm 2008, pers. comm.).

Chinch or Lygaeid bug: 

This medium-risk pest primarily feeds on grasses and is an external pest that often takes

shelter within the stem cavity of the fruit (Sweet, 2000). Although small in size, it is 

potentially visible on fruit surface and inspection of the fruit, especially the stem cavity 

area with a magnifying tool, is considered adequate to mitigate the risks. Requiring a PC 

with an AD stating the shipment is free of this pest will alert our inspectors to the pest of 

concern.

For all three commodities, the approved cold treatment will successfully mitigate the 

pests of concern, with the exception of the chinch bug on apricots and plumcots. The 

requirement for a Phytosanitary Certificate with an Additional Declaration for the chinch 

bug provides phytosanitary security by requiring the South Africa officials to conduct 

phytosanitary inspections for the pests not managed by the treatment. This effectively 

doubles the inspections the fruits receive. Furthermore, specifically listing the pest of 
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concern on the Additional Declaration alerts U.S. inspectors to the specific pest. 

Allowing only commercial consignments into the United States assumes that the fruits 

and vegetables would undergo some level of post harvest commercial handling (e.g.,

culling, packing, and sanitation) and ensures shipment integrity and trace back capability.

D. Conclusion

APHIS concludes that the phytosanitary measures proposed in this document, T107-a for 

cherries and T107-e for apricots and plumcots, and the additional Phytosanitary 

Certificate described in this Risk Management Document, will result in the effective 

removal from the pathway of the pests of concern identified by the PRA for the 

importation of fresh apricots, cherries, and plumcots from South Africa into the 

continental United States.

E. Authors

Inder P.S. Gadh, Ph.D.

Senior Risk Manager
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F. References

FAO. 2007. International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures. Glossary of 

Phytosanitary Terms, Publication No. 5. UN-FAO-IPPC, Italy. 12 pp.

Sweet, M.H. II. 2000. Seed and chinch bugs (Lygaeoidea). In Heteroptera of Economic 

Importance, edited by Schaefer, C.W. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

USDA. 2000. Guidelines for Pathway-Initiated Pest Risk Assessments. Version 5.02. October 

17, 2000.

USDA. 2009. Importation of fresh apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.), sweet cherry (Prunus 

avium (L.) L.), and plumcot (Prunus domestica x Prunus armeniaca) fruit from South 

Africa into the continental United States. A qualitative, pathway-initiated risk 

assessment with risk mitigation options. USDA APHIS PPQ September 2009.