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



## Ch **ufle (**  **C**

**alathea macrosepala**  **K. Schumm )**  **from Guatemala**  **into the Continental**  **United States Risk Management Document** 

**Ja nuary 18**  **, 20 1**  **2**

**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 edible flowers of c h ufle ( Cala thea macr os ep a la K. Schumm ) from El Salvador 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 Assess ment (USDA. 2000) . Subsequently , Guatemala submitted a request for market access in 2011. The PRA include d information for the genus Calathea in El Salvador and the neighboring countries of Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Belize, and Southern Mexico which covers part of the natural range of C. macrosepala. The pest risk assessment document, Importation of Fresh Ch ufle, Calathea macrosepala K. Schumm . immature inflorescences into the Continental United States from El Salvador f ound fo ur species of Lepidoptera that might follow the pathway of c h ufle from Central America (USDA. 2008) . The PRA included pests distributed in the entire Crotalaria growing region, which added pests known to be in Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala , Honduras, Nicaragua , Panama , and S outhern Mexico to those in El Salvador that will follow the pathway of fresh c h ufle . The four species of Lepidoptera are: Eurybia elvina (Stichel); Eurybia lycisca (Westwood); Eurybia patrona (Wey

mer); Eurybia unxia (Godmin and Salvin ). The PRA determined the likelihood of introduction and consequences of introduction for these L epidoptera species and found that the consequences of introduction were negligible because the pests were unsuited for the climates in the continental United States except in Southern Florida and there were no native Calathea spp. therefore the overall risk rating for these Lepidoptera was Low. Therefore n o risk mitigations other than port of entry

inspection, commercial shipments only , and inspection by the N ational Plant Protection Organization (NPPO ) and phy tosanitary certificate (PC) indicating the commodity

has been inspected and no pests are present is required. **Risk Management Measures** The following risk management measures must be followed for ch ufle from Guatemala to be imported into the United States:

 Ch ufle must be imported as commercial shipments only .  Each consignment of c h ufle must be accompanied by a phy tosanitary certificate issued by NPPO of the exporting country stating that the c h ufle in t he 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. **Conclusion** APHI S believes that the phy tosanitary measures proposed in this document will result in the eff ective removal of any potential quarantine pests associated with the importation of fresh3

chufle from Central America . Only pests whose risk was rated low were identified by the pest risk assessment as following the pathway of fresh chufle . Lepidoptera l arvae are external feeders that leave frass and feeding damage and are easily detectible . In spection is considered effective at finding external feeding pests and excluding infested shipments from entering commerce ( Cavey , 2003 ; Wittenberg and Cock, 2001 ) . **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. I nvasive species: vectors and management strategies. I sland Press, Washingto n, D.C. 518p. 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. 200 9 . Importation of Fresh Chufle , ( Calathea macrosep ala K. Schumm) , from El Salvador into the Continental United States . Qualitative, Pathway - In itiated Pest Risk Assessment. USDA, APHI S, CPHST, PERAL , Raleigh, NC. 20 pp. Wittenberg, R. and M.J.W. Cock. 2001. In vasive Alien Species: A toolkit of best pr evention and management practices. CABI publishing, CAB International, Wallingford, Oxon, UK. 228 pp. **Author** Walter P. Gould Senior Risk Manager