The systems approach has been successful in providing quarantine security for codling moths in the apple and cherry markets. This is a holistic approach of pest control which minimizes pests moving from the field to storage and can significantly reduce the occurrence of pests being transported with the commodity. The Systems Approach as a Quarantine Treatment Quarantine security is necessary to ensure that pests do not enter a geographic location where they do not currently exist.
Security is accomplished by enforcement of phytosanitary requirements of the importing country.
Although U.S. produced cherries consumed domestically are not treated with methyl bromide, due to international phytosanitary regulations, methyl bromide fumigation is applied to apples and cherries destined for export to Japan and Korea. To meet import regulations for Japan and the Republic of Korea, apples and cherries produced in the United States are fumigated with methyl bromide post-harvest to kill codling moths, larvae, or eggs which have infested the finished products. Although the systems approach to controlling codling moths is a proven, effective alternative to methyl bromide in the apple and cherry industries, methyl bromide continues to be the required treatment for apples and cherries exported to Japan and the Republic of Korea. Ongoing negotiations between the Agriculture Departments of the U.S., Japan, and the Republic of Korea could lead to the elimination of methyl bromide requirements and substitution to an alternative approved control such as the systems approach. These phases are described in greater detail below.