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



## Importation of Fresh Apricot, **Prunus armeniaca Marshall,**  **F ruit from**  **Continental Spain into the United States,**  **including Hawaii and U.S. Territories**

**Risk Managem ent Document** 

**October 21 , 2011** 

**Plant Health Programs (PHP)**  **Regulations, Permits and Manuals (RPM) Contact Person:**  **Meredith Jones**3

**Introduction** The United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA
- APHIS) received a request from Spain to authorize importation s of fresh apricot fruit into the United States. Since importation of fresh apricots from continental Spain is currently not authorized by

United States regulations (7 CFR §319.56), a pathway
- initiated pest risk assessment (PRA) was prepared b y APHI S’s Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) to identify the unmitigated pest risks associated with importation of fresh apricots from continental Spain (USDA, 2010). This document outlines the phy tosanitary measures that APHI S will require if the proposed importat ion of apricot fruit from continental Spain is approved. The risk assessment identified the following quarantine pests (one fruit fl y, one leaf rolling moth, and two fungal pathogens) as following the pathway of fresh apricot fruit from continental Spai n: Apiognomonia erythrostoma (Pers. : Fr.) Höhn. (Ascomycetes) Leaf scorch fungi Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfl y) Cydia funebrana (Treitschke) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) Plum fruit moth Monilinia fructi

gena Honey

ex Whetzel (Discomycetes) Brown rot fungi The fungal pathogen Apiognomonia erythrostoma was rated as having a Medium pest risk potential, and the remaining three species were assigned High pest risk potentials. APHI S
- PPQ pest risk assessment guidelines (USDA, 2000) suggest that, for quarantine pests given an overall High risk potential rating, specific ph yt osanitary measures beyond standard port of entry inspection are highl y recommended to mitigate pest risk. For pests given an overall ratin g of Medium, additional measures beyond the standard port of entry inspection may

be needed to mitigate pest risk. The propos ed importation of fresh apricot fruit from continental Spain, if approved, would be regulated b y an amendment to existing fruit an d vegetable import regulations (7 CFR §319.56). Pest risk management is the process of identifying way s to react to a perceived risk, evaluating the efficacy

of these actions, and identifying the most appropriate options (IPPC, 2004). This document outli nes phy

tosanitary measures and provides evidence of their efficacy in preventing the introduction of quarantine pests. The appropriate level of protection may be achieved through the application of a single phy tosanitary measure, such as establishment of a pest - free area , pest free place of production, quarantine treatment, or a combination of measures in a sy stems approach. **Risk Management Measures** Apricots imported into the United States from continental Spain (excluding Balearic Islands and Canary Islands) must be produced under a systems approach including the following risk management measures : **Monitoring and Oversight**

 Apricot s from Spain must be imported as a commercial consignment onl y.4

 The NPPO of Spain must provide a workplan to APHI S that details the activities (including inspections, monitoring, trapping, and surveying) that the NPPO will carry out in order to meet the requirements of the s ys tems approach. APHIS must approve the work plan
.
 T he NPPO of Spain must conduct inspections and monitor places of production and packinghouse operations to verify that the y comply

with the requirements of the work plan.

 If the NPPO of Spain finds that a place of production or packinghouse does not comply with the requ irements of the work plan, frui t from the place of production or packinghouse will not be eligible for export to the United States until APHIS and the NPPO of Spain conduct an investigation and implement appropriate remedial actions
.
 The NPPO of Spain must review and maintain all docum ents related to export program activities in places of production and packinghouses for at least 1 year and, as requested, provide them to APHI S for review. **Production Site**  **Requirements**

 Apricots must be grown in places of production registered and approved b y the NPPO of Spain for export to the United States. The NPPO of the exporting country will visit and inspect the places of production monthly , starting two months (60 day s) before harvest and continu ing until the end of the shipping season
.
 All fa llen fruits from each place of production must be removed and destroyed weekl y.

 The personnel conducting the trapping and pest survey s must be hired, trained, and supervised b y the NPPO of Spain . The NPPO will certify that exporting plac es of production have fruit fly and moth trapping programs and follow control guidelines, when necessary , to reduce regulated pest populations. APHI S may monitor the places of production if necessary
. **Mitigations for Monilinia fructigena**  **and Apiognomonia erythrostoma** 

 D uring the growing season apricots must be periodically inspected in the place of production for signs of both fungi infestations until harvest is completed. Infected leaves and fallen fruits must be remove d from places of production to reduce the inoculum potential. Upon detection of fungal diseases of concern, the NPPO of Spain must notify APHI S. APHIS may

prohibit the importation into the United States of apricots from the production site for the season.5

**Mitigations for Cydia funebrana**  **(two options )**  1. Pest
- Free Are a:

 Apricots must originate from a pest - free area for Cydia funebrana ( in accord ance to the International Standards for Phy tosanitary Measures IS PM 4: Requirements for the establishment of pest
- free areas; IPPC, 1996 )
. 2. Area of Low Pest Prevalence / Pest Management :

 Each registered place of production must be inspected b y the NPPO for signs of C. funebrana . Samples of 20 fruits per tree from 50 trees within every 4 h ectares must be visually inspected b y the NPPO every 7 day s during the growing season. During the harvest period, samples of 40 fruits per tree from 50 trees within every 4 h ectares must be visually inspected every

7 day s until harvest is completed.

 Places of p roduction must be trapped for Cydia funebrana with APHI S approved pheromone traps at a density of two traps per 4 h ectares (minimum of 2 traps per place of production). Traps must be checked every 7 day s from fruit formation until the harvest is completed.

 If the trap c ounts are greater than 10 moths per trap per week or more than 1% of the fruits sampled during the fruit sampling in one week are damaged or are found to have any life stage of Cydia funebrana , a control strategy must be implemented with treatments approved b y APHI S and the NPPO of Spain
.
 The NPPO of Spain must keep records of the placement of traps, trap visits, trap counts and treatments for each registered place of production. The NPPO must maintain these records for at least one year and make them available to APHI S upon request. **Mitigations f**

**or Ceratitis capitata** 

 Each place of production must be trapped for Ceratitis capitata with one APHI S
approved trap per 12 h ectares (minimum of one trap per place of production) beginning May 1 st and remaining in place and in service until harvesting is co mpleted. Traps must be serviced every

7 day s.

 Any time that trap counts are greater than 0.5 flies per trap per day , a control strategy must be implemented and approved b y APHIS and the NPPO of Spain
.
 The NPPO of Spain must keep records of the placement of traps, trap visits, trap counts and treatments for each registered place of production. The NPPO must maintain these records for at least one year and make them available to APHI S upon request.

 The apricots must be subjected to a cold treatment for Ceratitis capitata according to the APHI S treatment schedule T107
- a .6

**Post -**  **harvest Procedures and Packinghouse Requirements** 

 Apricot fruit must be safeguarded b y a pest - proof screen or plastic tarpaulin , or by some other barrier , while in transit to the packinghouse and while awaiting packing.

 Apricots must be packed within 24 hours of harvest in a pest
- exclusionary packinghouse.

 Apricots must be processed in packinghouses registered and approved b y the NPPO of Spain for export to the United States.

 Fruit must be packed in insect
- proof cartons or containers (sealed at the packinghouse to prevent the entry

of pests), or covered with insect
- proof mesh or a plastic tarpaulin for transport to the United States. These safeguards must remain intact until arrival in the United States.

 All openings to the outside of the packinghouse must be covered b y s creening with openings of not more than 1.5 mm or by some other barrier that prevents pests from entering. The packinghouse must have double doors at the e ntrance to the facility and at the interior entrance to the area where the apricot fruit s are packed.

 During the time the packinghouse is in use for exporting apricot fruit to the United States, the packinghouse may

only accept fruit from registered, app roved place s of production. **Phytosanitary Inspection**

 A biometric sample of apricot fruit (jointly agreed upon by

APHIS and the NPPO of Spain) must be inspected in Spain by the Spanish NPPO following post - harvest processing. The sample will be visually inspected for the quarantine pests : Cydia funebrana, Apiognomonia erythrostoma and Monilinia fructigena , and a portion of the fruit will be cut open to detect the internal pest Ceratitis capitata
. If an y Cydia funebrana, Apiognomonia erythrostoma, Monilinia fructigena or Ceratitis capitata are found, the entire consignment of fruit will be prohibited from import into the United States.

 Fruit presented for inspection at the port of entry to the United States must be identified in the shipping documents accompan yi ng each consignment of fruit that specify the place of production in which the fruit was produced, and the packinghouse in which the fruit was processed. This identification must be maintained until the fruit is released for entry into the Unite d States.7

**Phytosanitary Certificate**

 Each consignment of apricot fruit must be accompanied b y a P hy tosanitary C ertificate issued by NPPO of Spain , providing an A dditional D eclaration (AD) stating: “The fruit in the consignment w as grown in an approve d place of production, inspected , and found free from Cydia funebrana, Apiognomonia erythrostoma, Monilinia fructigena, and Ceratitis capitata.” **Efficacy of Risk Management Measures**  Apricots from continental Spain will be imported under a s ys tems approach with multiple measures to remove risk from the four pests listed in the risk assessment. A sy stems approach can provide an alternative to single measures to meet the appropriate level of phy tosanitary protection, or can be developed to provide phyt osanit ary protection in situations in which no single measure is available (IPPC, 2002). For example, Hass avocados from Mexico have been produced and exported to the United States under a sy stems approach for Stenoma catenifer , seed and stem weevils and fruit flies with no interceptions of quarantine pests for over eight ye ars (Bedigian, 2004). A pest
- free place of production is one of the mitigation options for Cydia funebrana
. Establishment of pest
- free places of production in combination with other measures removes the need for post
- harvest commodity treatments to achieve phy tosanitary security (IPPC, 1996 ; 1999). Pest
- free places of production are a major component of the Mexico Hass avocado sy stems approach. The other mitigation option for Cydia funebrana is low pest prevalence as determined b y trapping and fruit sampling and maintained by pest control activities. L ow pest prevalence in combination with inspection will be sufficient mitigation since apricots are not preferred hosts for Cydia funebrana (Sciarretta et al. , 2001) and larvae produce conspicuous damage to the fruit including mines on the surface of the fruit and holes filled with frass (Alford, 2005). The larvae do not pupate in the fruit, and the exiting larvae leave a hole in the fruit; attacked fruit ripen prematurel y and are easily distinguished from the other fruit (Alford, 2005). Trapping guidelines for Ceratitis capitata follow the International Atomic Energy Agency guidelines on fruit fly

trapping for low prevalence areas (IAEA, 200 3). The populations of Ceratitis capitata will be maintained at low prevalence levels using trapping and field control measures, which will prevent swamping of the cold treatment b y high larval populations. The cold treatment for Ceratitis capitata is an APHI S
- approved cold treatment (USDA , 2011 b ). Monilinia fructigena is the most common cause of fruit rot in fruit orchards, causing characteristic brown rot sy mptoms with conidial pustules often in concentric circles (CABI, 2011). Apiognomonia erythrosto ma produces distinctive r eddish spots as sy mptoms on leaves and fruits ( SMML , 2011). Fungicides, not required in this system s approach , are field applied to apricot in Spain as a standard disease control measure , which provides an extra element of incidental control. Field inspections, packinghouse inspections, and the P hy tosanitary C ertificate stating disease freedom are considered sufficient mitigation measures for the fungal diseases. Similar mitigation measures have been used successfully to mitigate Monilinia fructigena on China pears (7 CFR §319.56)
.8

Field sanitation of removing fallen fruit is required under this sy stems approach, and this will remove fruit from the field which would otherwise provide host material for pests of concern. Culling at the packing house, while not required in this system approach , is a standard industry practice which removes all obviously blemished, diseased and insect
- infested fruits from the pathway
. Registration of places of production and packinghouses will allow trace back and auditing. Any problem place s of production and packinghouses will be removed from the export program. Apricots produced under this systems approach will also be subject to inspection by Department of Homeland Security , Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the United S tates port of entry
. In fested fruit will be rejected, and trace back will be done by APHIS and the NPPO of Spain to identify and correct problems including removal of the packinghouse or place of production from the exp ort program. **Summary** There are several risk management measures available for the high
- risk pests identified above that will permit the importation of apricots from continental Spain while satisfying the appropriate level of ph yt osanitary protection for the United States (Table 1). A sy stems approach, employing a combination of measures acting independentl y, if properl y implemented, mitigates risk and provides an acceptable level of phy tosanitary protection. A ll port of entry requirements described in this document are necessary for proper and effective enforcement and will be codified in the Code of Federal Regulations (Appendix). A ll other operational requirements will be enforced via an operational workplan with the NPPO of the exporting country
. Ta ble 1. Summary

of risk management measures for a pricots, Prunus armeniaca , from continental Spain
. **Measure Pest**  **Efficacy** Monitoring and oversight All , but must be used in conjunction with other mitigations. Requires that the NPPO develop a work plan jointly

with APHI S and maintain oversight over all mitigation activities. Place of Production requirements All , but must be used in conjunction with other mitigation measures . Places of production require d to be visit ed , monitor ed , and registered by the Spanish NPPO for appropriate pest management activities. Pest
- Free Areas for Cydia funebrana Cydia funebrana Provides phy tosanitary securit y, as demonstrated b y successful recognition of a number of pest
- free areas b y APHI S (USDA, 2011a). Low prevalence f

or Cydia funebrana, but Maintaining Cydia funebrana at low9

**Measure Pest**  **Efficacy** Cydia funebrana including trapping and fruit sampling must be used in conjunction with other mitigation measures . population levels is sufficient protection along with inspection sin ce this pest l eaves large frass
- filled holes in fruit, and apricots are not a primary host. Low prevalence for Ceratitis capitata including trapping and NPPO inspection. Ceratitis capitata, but must be used in conjunction with an approved quarantine measures . Reducing Ceratitis capitata populations will reduce the pest load present when a quarantine treatment is applied, preventing treatment failure due to high pest load. Cold treatment Ceratitis capitata T107 a is an APHIS
- approved quarantine treatment (USDA, 2011b). S amp ling/inspection, and fruit removal for Monilinia fructigena and Apiognomonia erythrostoma Monilinia fructigena and Apiognomonia erythrostoma
. S amp ling/inspection, and fruit removal for both fungal diseases will reduce disease infestation (CABI, 2011; U SDA, 2010). Orchard Sanitation All , but must be used in conjunction with other mitigation measures . Fallen fruits and an y infected leaves must be removed and destroyed weekl y . Post
- harvest procedures All , but must be used in conjunction with other mitigation measures . Removal of an y damaged or diseased fruit reduces the risk that pests will be exported to the United States.

Phy tosanitary inspection All , but must be used in

conjunction with other mitigation measures . Inspection ensures that various st ages of an y pest that are present will be detected; this is particularly effective against those pests whose later life stages are larger and more readil y detected (Borror et al. 1989). Sy mptoms of Monilinia fructigena and Apiognomonia erythrostoma are vis ually detected (CABI, 2011) Regular inspections are recognized as part of a balanced pest management program (Kahn and Mathur , 1999). Phy tosanitary C ertificate All , but must be used in

conjunction with other mitigation measures . The P hy tosanitary C ert ificate requires the NPPO to inspect the apricots for quarantine pests.10

**Authors** Walter Gould, Senior Risk Manager APHI S
- PPQ José R. Hernández, Senior Risk Manager , APHIS
- PPQ **References** Alford, D.V. 2005. Pests of fruit crops, a colour handbook, 2 nd ed. Manson Publishing Ltd., London, UK. 480 pp. Bedigian, K. 2004. Mexican avocado import program. Federal Register 69(229): 69748
- 69774. Borror, D. J., Triplehorn, C. A. and N. F. Johnson. 1989. Introduction to the study of insects, 6th ed. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers, TX. CABI, 2011. Crop Protection Compendium (http://www.cabicompendium.org ). Last visit: March 2011. IA EA. 2003. Trapping guidelines for area
- wide fruit fly programmes. International Atomic Energy Agency , Vienna, Austria. http://www.iaea.org/programmes/nafa/d4/index.html. IPPC. 1996. Requirements for the establishment of pest free areas. International Standards for Phy tosanitary Measures No. 4. Rome: Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. IPPC. 1999. Requirements for the establishment of pest free places of production and pest free production sites. International Standards for Phy tosanitary Measures No. 10. Rome: Secretariat o f the International Plant Protection Convention, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. IPPC. 2002. The use of integrated measures in a sy stems approach for pest risk management. International Standards for Phy tosanitary Measures No. 14. Rom e: Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. IPPC. 2004. Pest risk analy sis for quarantine pests, including anal ys is of environmental risks and living modified organisms. Internation al Standards for Ph yt osanitary Measures No. 11. Rome: Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Kahn, R.P. and S.B. Mathur. 1999. Containment facilities and safeguards for exotic plant pathogens and pests. APS Press, St. Paul MN. 213 pp. Sciarretta, A., P. Trematerra and J. Baumgärtner. 2001. Geostatistical analy sis of Cydia funebrana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) pheromone trap catches at two spatial scales. American11

Entomologist 4 7: 174
- 184. SMML . 2011. Cherry

leaf scorch **-** Apiognomonia erythrostoma
. http://nt.ars
- grin.gov
. Last visit, March, 16, 2011. USDA. 2000. Guidelines for Pathway
- Initiated Pest Risk Assessments, Version 5.02. USDA
APHI S, PPQ
. Permits and Risk Assessment
. Commodity Risk Anal ys is Branch . 30pp. USDA. 2010. Importation of Fresh Apricot, Prunus armeniaca Marshall, F ruit from Continental Spain into the United States, including Hawaii and U.S. Territories. A Pathway
- Initiated Risk Assessment. United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine, Raleigh, NC. 44 pp. USDA. 2011a. Designated Pest(s) Free Areas That Meet APHIS Requirements for Pest
- free Areas Listed in 7 CFR 319.56
- 5 Revision 2 0100610_008 http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/plants/manuals/ports/downloads/DesignatedPestFreeA reas.pdf last accessed Mar. 2011. USDA. 2011b. Treatment manual. http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/plants/manuals/ports/downloads/treatment.pdf last accessed Mar. 2011.