United States Department of Agriculture

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Plant Protection and Quarantine

Risk Management Document

Importation Mango Fruit, Mangifera indica, from 

Jamaica into the Continental United States

March 20, 2013

Plant Health Programs (PHP)

Regulations, Permits and Manuals (RPM)

Contact Person: Tony Román
1

Introduction

USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Plant Protection and Quarantine 

(PPQ) prepared a Pest Risk Assessment (PRA) to evaluate the risks associated with the 

importation of commercially produced mango, Mangifera indica L., as fresh fruit from Jamaica 

into the continental United States in response to a 2009 market access request from Jamaica 

(MAFJA, 2009; USDA, 2011a). APHIS developed the PRA for Jamaica mango based on pests 

listed in the Jamaica market access request (MAFJA, 2009), pest interception records and 

available scientific literature (USDA, 2011a). 

Five pests of quarantine significance were identified in the PRA, which could reasonably be 

expected to follow the pathway of fresh mangos imported into the continental United States from 

Jamaica. The pests of quarantine concern that can follow the pathway of mango fruit include:

Arthropods

Anastrepha obliqua (Macquart) (Diptera: Tephritidae) - West Indian fruit fly

Anastrepha suspensa (Loew) (Diptera: Tephritidae) - Caribbean fruit fly

Coccus moestus De Lotto (Hemiptera: Coccidae) - Moestus soft scale

Fungi

Phomopsis mangiferae S. Ahmad (Ascomycetes: Diaporthales) - stem end rot of mango

Bacteria

Xanthomonas campestris pv. mangiferaeindicae (Patel et al. 1948) Robbs et al. 1974 – mango 

bacterial black spot

The pest risk assessment identified a cumulative pest risk potential of High for the fruit flies 

Anastrepha obliqua and A. suspensa and Medium for the soft scale Coccus moestus and plant 

pathogens Phomopsis mangifera, and Xanthomonas campestris pv. mangiferaeindicae. 

According to the APHIS Guidelines for Pathway-Initiated Pest Risk Assessments Version 5.02

(USDA, 2000), it is strongly recommended that pests receiving a rating of High are mitigated by

phytosanitary measures in addition to standard port of entry inspection. Pests rated medium may 

require additional phytosanitary measures beyond standard port of entry inspection.

APHIS will only allow the importation of commercial consignments of mangos. The mango fruit

will be imported into the United States under the similar conditions as current imports of mangos

from Central America and South America. Currently mangos from Central and South America 

may be imported into the United States with hot water treatment for fruit flies, or from APHIS 

recognized pest free areas that are free of fruit flies.

Risk management measures
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APHIS proposes that mangos from Jamaica may be imported into the continental United States 

under the following conditions:

1. Only commercial consignments of mango, Mangifera indica, may be imported. All growers 

must be registered with the National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO) of Jamaica.

2. The mangos must be treated with an APHIS approved treatment for Anastrepha spp. fruit 

flies. The following treatments are available in the APHIS treatment manual for Anastrepha spp. 

fruit flies (USDA, 2011b).

A. Hot water treatment, T102-a. Each consignment of fruit treated with the APHISapproved hot water treatment must be pre-cleared by APHIS inspectors in Jamaica. The 

treatment must be carried out under the supervision and direction of APHIS and each 

shipment must be inspected jointly by APHIS and the Jamaica NPPO inspectors.

B. Irradiation treatment, T105. The fruit must be irradiated with a minimum absorbed 

dose of 150 Gy for fruit flies and follow the requirements of 7 CFR parts 305 and 319. If 

the approved irradiation treatment is applied outside the United States, each consignment

of fruit must be pre-cleared by APHIS inspectors in Jamaica. If irradiation is to be 

applied upon arrival in the United States, each consignment of fruit must be inspected by

Jamaica inspectors prior to departure and accompanied by a Phytosanitary Certificate 

(PC) issued by the NPPO of Jamaica. Mangos intended to be irradiated in the United 

States must be shipped in packaging that prevents escape of any fruit fly larvae or adults. 

3. The mangos must be safeguarded from exposure to fruit flies from the time of treatment to 

export, including packaging which prevents access by fruit flies and other injurious insect pests. 

The package containing the mangos may not contain any other fruit, including mangos not 

qualified for importation into the United States.

4 The fruit must be subject to a pre- or post-harvest fungicidal application unless the mango 

fruit originate from orchards which are inspected and found free of diseases.

5. Each consignment must be inspected jointly by inspectors from APHIS and the national plant 

protection organization (NPPO) of Jamaica and accompanied by a Phytosanitary Certificate (PC)

issued by NPPO of Jamaica certifying that the consignment was inspected and received the 

mandatory treatment. The PC must also include an additional declaration (AD) stating: “The 

mangos in this consignment were inspected and found free of Phomopsis mangiferae and 

Xanthomonas campestris pv. mangiferaeindicae and received the required hot water treatment or 

received irradiation treatment with 150 Gy as the minimum absorbed dose.” 

6. Each consignment is subject to inspection at the U.S. ports of entry. 
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Evidence for the Effective Removal of Pests of Concern from the Pathway

Commercial consignments include fruit that has been grown to high standards of quality, 

subjected to pest control, sorted for quality, subjected to culling, and post harvest treatments to 

maintain quality. Cultural, chemical, or mechanical means (e.g., field sanitation, pre-harvest 

application of pesticides, resistant cultivars) should be used to eliminate pests from fields or 

prevent fruit infestation. Sanitation, such as removing and discarding fallen fruit and pesticide 

applications, as essential components of good agricultural practices, are mainstays of commercial 

fruit production (e.g., Kirk et al., 2001). Commercially produced fruit is thus far less likely to 

contain quarantine pests (USDA, 2011c).

Hot water treatments have been used to disinfest mangos of fruit flies since 1987 (Sharp, 1994). 

Many countries in Central and South America including Brazil, Costa Rica, Dominican 

Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru and Venezuela export 

mangos to the United States using hot water immersion treatment. In the last three years, 

between 350 and 400 thousand metric tons of mangos have been imported into the United States 

each year from these countries, almost all using the T102a hot water treatment. The treatment is 

considered an effective treatment for Anastrepha spp. fruit flies (USDA, 2011b).

The 150 gy dose was adopted by APHIS as effective against all species of Tephritid fruit flies 

(IAEA, 2004). Irradiation has been used successfully to import fruits and vegetables from India, 

Mexico, Thailand, Vietnam and other countries as well as for moving fruit interstate from 

Hawaii. No live fruit flies have been found in shipments of irradiated fruit, in part because of the 

oversight APHIS provides to these programs.

Safeguarding provides a physical barrier to re-infestation by fruit flies and other pests. This may 

include tarps, insect proof boxes or containers and double door entries to packinghouses or other 

facilities. Safeguarding movement of fruit from the field to the packinghouse, and subsequently 

to the place of export is standard procedure for export programs in countries where fruit flies 

occur. 

Any infestations of scale insects would be culled by the packing house. The hot water dip will 

kill all scale insects on the surface of the mangos (Gould & McGuire, 2000; Hara et al., 1996). 

Inspection at the port of entry will also readily detect scale insects, so that fruit intended for 

irradiation can be inspected to detect any infestations of soft scales. 

The PRA determined that the fungus Phomopsis mangiferae has a medium pest risk potential. 

According to the Guidelines for Pathway-Initiated Pest Risk Assessments Version 5.02 (USDA, 

2000), for pests rated with medium pest risk, specific phytosanitary measures may be necessary.

Phomopsis mangiferae produces dark lesions at the stem end that penetrate the mesocarp (Ploetz, 

2003); the lesions may resemble stem-end anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum 

gloeosporioides, but the latter lesions usually penetrate the mesocarp not deeper than 10-20 mm 

and are covered by pink spore masses of the pathogen (Ploetz, 2003). These lesions are easily 

identified by inspectors at packing houses as well as at the port of entry. 
4

APHIS is requiring that, unless mango fruit originated from orchards inspected and found free of 

diseases, mango fruit must be subjected to a pre- or post-harvest fungicidal application. The 

work plan shall incorporate details on fungicide and methodology of application. Pre- or postharvest fungicidal applications are already being successfully used to mitigate fungal diseases for 

mangos imported from India and Pakistan into the United States (7 CFR § 319.56-46). 

Bacterial black spot or black canker caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. mangiferaeindica

occurs in Australia, Brazil, China, India, Japan, Pakistan, Réunion, South Africa, Sudan, and 

Taiwan (CABI, 2005). Since the pathogen moves only short distances in wind-blown aerosols 

(usually within orchards), the long-distance spread of the pathogen depends almost entirely upon 

the movement of diseased propagative material. True seed transmission has not been 

demonstrated (Manicom & Pruvost, 1994; Gagnevin & Pruvost, 2001). This bacterial pathogen 

is not generally considered as a post harvest disease (Johnson, 1994; Singh, 2000). The pathogen 

is an epiphytic colonist of leaves (Manicom, 1986; Pruvost et al., 1990), buds (Pruvost et al., 

1993) and fruit (Pruvost & Luisetti, 1991). Infection usually occurs through wounds and less 

often through stomata (Ploetz et al., 1994).

Symptoms of Xanthomonas campestris pv. mangiferaeindica on mango fruit consist of fruit 

lesions that develop into water-soaked halos, become raised, blacken and crack open (Ploetz et 

al., 1994). These conspicuous lesions usually produce gummy exudates and are discernible with 

the naked eye (Johnson et al., 1989). Fruit susceptibility increases over time and is highest 

during the month preceding harvest (Gagnevin & Pruvost, 2001). Visual inspection of the fruit 

at the packinghouse would most likely detect this pathogen. This pest is rated as medium risk in 

the PRA (USDA, 2011a). According to our 5.02 guidelines, pests rated as medium risk may 

require specific mitigation measures beyond port of entry inspection.

Inspection is a primary tool for interdicting plant pests from entering the United States. APHIS 

and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) intercept 1.5 million prohibited plants and plant 

products and 40,000 to 50,000 plant pests per year by inspection (Cavey, 2003). The 

requirement of a Phytosanitary Certificate (PC) ensures that the NPPO in the country of origin 

inspects the commodity and the Additional Declaration (AD) lists specific pests inspected for. 

The additional declaration also alerts border inspectors in the United States to the specific pests 

that might be present on the commodity.

 

Summary

The phytosanitary requirements described above include commercial consignments, quarantine 

treatments for fruit flies, inspections, and phytosanitary certification for other quarantine pests.

This risk management document concludes that, based on the evaluation of effectiveness of the 

measures directed against the quarantine pests, the mitigations described will result in the 

effective removal of the pests of concern, which were identified by the pest risk assessment 

(USDA, 2011a) for the importation of mangos from Jamaica into the continental United States.
5

Authors

Walter Gould, Ph.D

Senior Risk Manager - Entomology

José R. Hernández, Ph.D

Senior Risk Manager - Plant Pathology

Mitigation Measure Evidence for removal of pests from the pathway

1. Only commercial shipments may 

be imported. All growers must be 

registered with the Jamaican NPPO 

of the exporting country.

Fruit in commercial orchards are grown using good agricultural practices 

which reduce pest populations. Registration of orchards allows trace back 

and removal from the export program of orchards with pest problems.

2. Treatment with either hot water 

dip T102a or irradiation T105 150gy 

for fruit flies.

Both treatments provide quarantine security for fruit flies (USDA, 2011b). 

Hot water treatment also mitigates stem end rot caused by Phomopsis 

mangiferae (Ploetz, 2003). Hot water treatment mitigates against scale 

insects (Gould & McGuire, 2000; Hara et al., 1996).

3. Mangos must be safeguarded 

from exposure to fruit flies from 

treatment to export, including being 

packaged so as to prevent access by 

fruit flies and other injurious insect 

pests. 

Packing after treatment in a pest exclusionary house and safeguarding 

during transit reduces the exposure of harvested mangos to infestation by 

maintaining a pest exclusionary barrier.

4. The fruit must be subjected to a 

pre- or post-harvest fungicidal 

application, unless mango fruit 

originated from orchards inspected 

and found free of diseases.

Pre- and post-harvest fungicidal applications reduces stem end rot (Ploetz, 

2003).

5. Each shipment of mangos must be 

accompanied by a phytosanitary 

certificate issued by NPPO bearing 

the following declaration: “the 

mangos in this consignment were 

inspected and found free of 

Phomopsis mangiferae and 

Xanthomonas campestris pv. 

mangiferaeindicae and received the 

required hot water treatment or 

received irradiation treatment with 

150 Gy as the minimum absorbed 

dose.”

Requiring a Phytosanitary Certificate effectively ensures inspection by the

NPPO for pests of concern. The additional declaration alerts inspectors at 

the United States port of entry to potential pests of concern. 

6. Each shipment of mangos is 

subject to inspection at the port of 

entry to the United States.

Inspection ensures that various stages of any pest that are present will be 

detected; this is particularly effective against those pests whose later life 

stages are larger and more readily detected (Borror et al., 1989). 

Inspection will readily detect infestations of soft scales. Inspection is a 

primary method used by APHIS and CBP to interdict plant pests upon 

entry to the United States (Cavey, 2003).
6

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