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



## Risk Managem **ent Document**


## Importation of fresh fruit of Chinese Sand Pear, **Pyrus pyrifolia**  **, from China, including the special administrative**  **regions of Hong Kong and Macau, into the entire United**

**States, including all territories**

**January 25, 2011**

**Plant Health Programs (PHP) Regulations, Permits and Manuals (RPM)**  **Contact Person: Donna**  **L. West** This document describes the ri sk management measures for the i mportation of fresh fruit of

Chinese s and p ear, Pyrus pyrifolia (Burm. f .) Nakai , from China, including the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau, into the entire United States, including all the Terrorities

. The volume of Chinese Sand Pears to be exported to the United States is estimated to be high (USDA, 2009). United States Code of Federal Regulations (7 CFR 319.56 , the regulations ) authorizes importation of fruits and vegetables from for eign countries into the United States. A qualitative, pathway

- initiated risk assessment (PRA), “Importation of fresh fruit of Chinese Sand p ear, Pyrus pyrifolia , from China, including the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau, into the e ntire United States, including all the Territ ories ” (USDA, 2009) was developed in support of a request from the People ’ s Republic of China to export sand p ears into the United States. Entry

of th ese commodit ies into the United States presents a risk of introduction of exotic plant pests. The PRA listed sixteen quarantine pests that may follow the pathway of commercial shipments of Chinese Sand p ears. Fourteen of the pests were rated ‘H igh ’ risk, and two were r ated ‘M edium ’ risk. These pests that may follow the pathway are: High risk pests Arthropods Amphitetranychus viennensis (Zacher) ( Acari: Tetranychidae )

Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae) Calepitrimerus neimongolensis Kuang and Geng ( Acari: Eriophyidae) Carposina sasakii Matsumura (Lepidoptera: Carposinidae) Ceroplastes japonicus Green (Hemiptera: Coccidae) Ceroplastes rubens Maskell (Hemiptera: Coccidae) Conogethes punctiferalis (Guenée) (Lepidoptera: Py ralidae) Grapholita inopinata (Heinrich) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) Phenacoccus pergandei Cockerell (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) Planococcus kraunhiae (Kuwana) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) Fungi Alternaria gaisen Nagano (Ascom ycet es: Pleosporales)

Guignardia pyricola (Nose ) W. Yamamoto (Ascomycetes: Dothideales) Monilinia fructigena Honey in Whetzel (Ascom ycetes: Helotiales) Venturia nashicola Tanaka and Yamamoto (Ascomycetes: Pleosporales) Medium risk pests

Acrobasis pyrivorella (Matsumura) (Lepidoptera: Py ralidae) Ap hanostigma iaksuiense (Kishida) (Hemiptera: Phylloxeridae) According to the USDA guidelines for pathway

- initiated pest risk assessments ( USDA, 2000 ), specific ph yt osanitary

measures, supplemental to port

- of

- arrival inspection, are strongl yrecommended for pests given a ‘High’ pest risk potential and specific ph yt osanitary measures may b e necessary

for pests given a ‘Medium’ pest risk potential. 

## Risk Managem **ent Measures :**  One of the pests listed as a ‘High’ risk pest is the fruit fly , Bactrocera dorsalis. This fruit fly is found throughout Southeast Asia including southern China (Ko yama 1989, White and Elson

Harris, 1992; Yang et al. , 1994). In Asia, Bactrocera dorsalis, is not found north of the 33 rd parallel (EPPO, 1997). ( A risk mitigation document (USDA, 2007), which provided justification on the removal of fruit fly trapping and th e cold treatment requirement for importation of Ya pear ( Pyrus bretschneideri ) fruit fr om China into the United States, also detailed the range of Bactrocera dorsalis in China at length.) The current PRA, “Importation of fresh fruit of Chinese Sand p ear, Pyrus pyrifolia , from China, including the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau, into the entire United States, including all the Territories ” (USDA, 2009) includes areas both north and south of the 33 rd parallel. Due to the presence of B actrocera dorsalis , south of the 33 rd parallel, orchards located below the 33 rd parallel that export s and p ears to the United States will be required to follow additional mitigation measures as detailed below. APHI S proposes that s and p ears from China must be imported into the United States only under the following conditions: **AREAS NORTH OF**  **33 RD**  **PARALLEL:** 1. Sand pear must be grown by growers registered with the national plant protection organization (NPPO) of China in an APHI S

- approved export producti on site

. 2. The NPPO of China shall be responsible for ensuring that registered orchards are subject to field sanitation , that growers are aware of quarantine pests , and that control measures are taken for pest control. Details of specific measures will be included in an operational work plan (OWP) approved by NPPO of China and APHIS

. 3. All propagative material introduced into a registered production site must be certified free of the quarantine pests for China sand pears by the NPPO of China. 4. All s and p ear fruits will be bagged on trees with double lay ered paper bags when each fruit is no more than 2.5 cm in diameter

. The bags must remain intact on the pears through the harvest and during the movement to the packing house. 5. The registered growers shall b e responsible for following the phy tosanitary measures agreed upon by APHI S and the NPPO of China, including appl yi ng pesticides to reduce pest population s . 6. The NPPO of China or official authorized b y the NPPO of China must inspect the registered producti on site for signs of pest infestation and allow APHIS to monitor the inspection. The NPPO of China must provide APHI S with information on pestdetections and pest detection practices, and APHIS must approve the pest detection

practices. 7. Upon detection i n the production site of Amphitetranychus viennensis, Calepitrimerus neimongolensis, Carposina sasakii, Ceroplastes rubens, Conogethes punctiferalis, Grapholita inopinata, Phenacoccus pergandei, Planococcus kraunhiae, Acrobasis pyrivorella, Aphanostigma i aksuiense , Alternaria gaisen , Guignardia pyricola , Monilinia fructigena , or Venturia nashicola , the NPPO of China must notify APHIS immediately . APHIS may reject the lot or consignment and may prohibit the importation into the United States of sand pears from the production site. 8. The exportation to the United States of sand pears from the rejected production site may resume in the next growing season if an investigation is conducted and APHI S and the NPPO of China agree that appropriate remedial actions h ave been taken. If an y of these pests are detected in more than one registered production site, APHI S may prohibit the importation into the United States of Sand pears from China until an investigation is conducted and APHI S and the NPPO of China agree that appropriate remedial actions have been taken. 9. All s and p ears must be packed in pest exclusionary packing houses that must be registered with NPPO of China

. Packing houses must have a tracking s ys tem to identify individual orchards for trace back. 10. Packing houses must not pack s and pears for other countries or non - registered production sites while packing sand pears from registered production sites in China that are destined for export to the United States

. 11. Details of packing house procedures to b e followed will be included in the OWP

. 12. T he NPPO of China or officials authorized b y the NPPO of China must inspect the sand pears at the packinghouses for signs of pest infestations and allow APHI S to monitor the inspections. Upon detection of Amphitetranychus viennensis, Calepitrimerus neimongolensis, Carposina sasakii, Ceroplastes rubens, Conogethes punctiferalis, Grapholita inopinata, Phenacoccus pergandei, Planococcus kraunhiae, Acrobasis pyrivorella, Aphanostigma iaksuiense , Alternaria gaisen , Guign ardia pyricola , Monilinia fructigena , or Venturia nashicola , APHIS may reject the consignment. 13. Each shipping box must be marked with the identity of the packing facility and grower to ensure trace back

. 14. Sand p ears must be imported as commercial consignme nts onl y. 15. Sand pears must be shipped in insect

- pro of containers and safeguarded during transport to the United States in a manner that will prevent pest infestation.16. Sand pears must be held in a cold storage facility while awaiting export. If any other

fruit from unregistered production sites are stored in the same facility , the sand pears must be isolated from that other fruit. 17. Each consignment of s and p ears must be accompanied b y a Ph yt osanitary Certificate (PC) issued by

the NPPO of China stat ing that conditions of this se ction (Importation conditions for areas north of 38 th parallel) have been met, and that the consignment has been inspected and found free of quarantine pests. **AREAS SOUTH OF**  **33 RD**  **PARALLEL:** All mitigation measures listed abo ve will be followed plus the following. 1. All Sand pear production sites and associated areas (registered orchards, registered packing houses and the surrounding areas) must have a pest monitoring s ys tem in place for the fruit fl y, Bactrocera dorsalis

. The traps must use methyl eugenol as lure. A minimum of one methyl eugenol trap should be placed in each registered orchard and any villages present at the rate of one trap for each square kilometer. The traps must be serviced once in two weeks. 2. Data consi sting of number, location of traps, and trap catches must be made available to APHI S upon request. 3. The NPPO of China will notify APHIS of the detection of any species of economically important fruit flies within 48 hours of detection. 4. The capture of a si ngle fruit fly in a registered orchard will immediately cancel export from that orchard until the source of the infestation is delimited, trap density is increased, pesticide spray s are applied, or other measures acceptable to APHIS are taken to prevent further occurrences. 5. All S and p ears from registered orchards south of the 33 rd parallel will undergo cold treatment as per the treatment schedule T107

- j prior to export to the United States. 

## Efficacy of Risk Management Measures: Most of the arthropods listed as quarantine pests in the PRA (USDA, 2009) also occur on Ya p ears ( Pyrus bretschneideri ) and f ragrant pears (

Pyrus sp. nr. communis ) , both of which are currentl y authorized under the regulations to be exported to the United States from China. A re view of pest interceptions at U.S. ports

- of

- entry for P. bretschneideri and P. sp. nr. communis from China over the period 2000 to October 29, 2010 (PestID, 2010) that were imported in accordance with the regulations reveals no arthropod of quarantine conc ern listed in the PRA (USDA, 2009) has been intercepted. This shows the efficacy of current mitigation measures i n place for imports of Ya pears and fragrant pears.The PRA also identifies several ph yt opathogenic fungi that are likel y to follow the pathway on

sand pears. One such fungus, G. pyricola (Nose) W. Yamamoto (Ascomycetes: Dothideales) , has not been identified as a pest of concern for Ya pears or fragrant pears from China. While we do not consider an y one mitigation measure to be effective in preventing the introduction of these phy topathogenic fungi to fragrant pears from China, the bagging, inspection, and packinghouse requirements spe cified above, in conjunction with the possible inspection of the fruits at ports of entry

to the United States, is sufficient to address the risk that sand pears infested with such fungi would be imported into the United States. This same complex of measures addresses the risks presented by Calepitrimerus neimongolensis Kuang and Geng , another pest which is not considerered likel y to follow the pathway on Ya pears or fragrant pears from China that are imported into the United States but that might follow the pathway on sand pears from China. The Oriental fruit fly , B. dorsalis , is known to occur in the region south of the 33 rd parallel. Regular fruit fl y monitoring through meth yl eugenol baited traps will reveal the presence of this pest in registered or chards designated for export of s and p ears to the United States. Presence of this pest will result in the immediate cancellation of exports from the affected orchard(s). 

## Summary: Currently , Ya pears and fragrant pears have been imported into the United States from China without interceptions of arthropods for over 10 ye ars, thus demonstrating the efficacy of existing mitigation measures. As most of the arthropod pests listed as pests of concern on Ya pears and fragrant pears als o occur on s and p ears, a combination of current measures for imports of Y a pears and fragrant pears will also be efficacious for these pests on s and p ear imports. There are several phy

topathogenic fungi that might follow the pathway on sand pears from C hina. One of these fungi, along with a mite, are not considered likel y to follow the pathway on Ya pears or fragrant pears, but might follow the pathway on sand pears. However, several mitigation measures, also drawn from the existing measures for the im portation of Ya pears and fragrant pears, will address the risk presented b y these pests. The requirements include registration of orchards and and packinghouses with the NPPO of China; sourcing of all propagative material that enters the place of production; inspection for quarantine pests at set intervals b y the NPPO of China; bagging of fruit; safeguarding; labeling; and importation in commercial consignments. These requirements will pertain to imports of pears from orchards in China that are located north of the 33 rd parallel , in areas where the fruit fl y, Bactrocera dorsalis, is not known to occur. For orchards south of the 33 rd parallel, there will be additional requirements: maintenance of a trapping program for fruit fly , and cancellation of exports of sand pears to the United States from any orchard in which fruit fly is detected. T he requirement to maintain a fruit fly monitoring program will provide data on the presence or absence of the fruit fl y, Bactrocera dorsalis

. Cancellation of exports from infested orchards will provide the required phytosanitary measure to prevent entry

of the fruit fly

.The requirements of a phytosanitary certificate from the NPPO of China will document that the importat ion is a product of China. A phy tosanitary certificate also provides phy tosanitary securit y b y requiring the NPPO to conduct inspections for pests. APHI S has determined that the listed risk management measures, along with the requirement of a phy tosanitary certificate, and the port of entry inspection, will mitigate th e risk of pest introduction on s and p ears from China.


## Authors: Devaiah A. Muruvanda, Ph.D. Senior Risk Manager

- Entomology Jos é R. Hern ández, Ph.D. Senior Risk Manager

- Plant Pathology



## References: EPPO. 1997. Quarantine Pests of Europe, Second Edition. CAB International, Wallingford, U.K. 1425 pp. Koy ama, J. 1989. Chapter 2.4 South

- East Asia and Japan. In Fruit Flies: Their biology , natural enemies and control. Vol 3A. Robinson and Hooper, eds. Elsevier Science Publishing Co., NY, NY. p 63

- 66. PestID 2010. Pest Interception Database (PestID) v1.2. United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine (P PQ). https://mokcs14.aphis.usda.gov/aqas/login.jsp

. USDA, 2010. Pest ID database. Accessed Oct. 29, 2010. USDA, 2009. Importation of fresh fruit of Chinese Sand Pear, Pyrus pyrifolia , from China, including the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau, into the entire United States, including all the Territories

. A Pathway

- Initiated risk Assessment. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Center for Plant Health Science an d Technology , Plant Epidemiology and Risk Analy sis Laboratory , Raleigh, NC. 7 6 pp.USDA. 2000. Guidelines for Pathway

- Initiated Pest Risk Assessments, Version 5.02.

Plant Protection and Quarantine, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture. USDA, 2007. Risk Mitigation Document. Removal of fruit fl y trapping and cold treatment requirement for importation of Ya Pear ( Pyrus x bretschneideri ) fruit from China into the United States. Animal and Plant Health Inspec tion Service, Commodity Imports analy ses and Operations. 7 pp. White I .m and M.M. Elson

- Harris. 1992. Fruit flies of Economic Significance. CAB International, Wallingford, U.K. 601 pp. Yang, P., J.R. Carey

and R.V. Dowell. 1994. Tephritid fruit flies in China: historical background and current status. Pan

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- 167.