Procedures for the Control of Bacterial Disease (Fire Blight) and Limiting its Distribution

Regulation No. 575

Adopted 21 July 2008

Procedures for the Control of Bacterial Disease
(Fire Blight) and Limiting its Distribution

Issued pursuant to

Section 5, Clause 13

of the Plant Protection Law

 

I. General Provisions

1. These Regulations prescribe the procedures by which the plant quarantine organism – bacterial disease (fire blight) Erwinia amylovora (Burr.) Winsl. et al. (hereinafter – organism) – shall be controlled and how its distribution shall be limited .

2. These Regulations shall apply to the following host plants of the organism – the apple tree Malus Mill., the pear tree Pyrus L., the hawthorn Crataegus L., the rowan-tree Sorbus L., the cotoneaster Cotoneaster Ehrh., the quince Cydonia Mill., the Japanese quince Chaenomeles Lindl., the juneberry Amelanchier Medik., the loquat Eriobotrya Lindl., the mespilus Mespilus L., firethorn Pyracantha M.Roem. and Photinia davidiana Photinia davidiana (Decne.) Cardot – (hereafter – host plant), excluding the fruit and seeds.

3. The State Plant Protection Service (hereinafter – Service):

3.2. shall take a sample from the host plant to determine the organism in accordance with the annex to these Regulations and send it for laboratory analyses;

3.3. shall perform a laboratory diagnosis of the organism;

3.4. shall apply the measures for limiting of the spread and combating the organism (hereinafter – phytosanitary measure) and supervise their performance;

3.5. shall perform the necessary measures, in order to determine the probable origin of the organism.

4. A person shall register in the register of persons involved in the circulation of plants and plant products subject to phytosanitary control in accordance with the regulatory enactments regarding plant quarantine, if there is a commercial garden in their ownership or control – a garden that has been established in order to make a profit from the retail of fruits and is being gardened (cultivated alleys between tree rows, beds around tree trunks, pruned crowns).

5. The area of a commercial garden shall be:

5.1. for apple-trees – not less than one hectare;

5.2. for pear-trees and Japanese quinces – not less than 0.5 hectares.

 

II. Specification of Phytosanitary Measures

6. If during the examination of the host plant the Service detects visual signs of the organism, the Service shall:

6.2. to eliminate the risk of the organism spreading, prohibit a person from moving host plants and their propagating material from their growing or cultivation sites for a time period of up to 15 working days.

7. If, in performing the laboratory analyses, the organism is not detected in the sample, the Service shall remove the restrictions referred to in Sub-paragraph 6.2 of these Regulations.

8. If, in performing the laboratory analyses, the organism is detected in the sample, the Service shall, within five working days from receipt of results of the analyses, take a decision regarding implementing phytosanitary measures in accordance with Paragraphs 9 and 11 of these Regulations.

9. The Service shall:

9.2. the territory in which the infected host plant is growing, shall be declared the focus of the organism:

9.2.1. nursery – area in which plants are growing (irrespective of the utilisation objective);

9.2.2. mother plant (a plant which is utilised for obtaining seed and propagating material (excluding rootstocks)) plantation;

9.2.3. rootstock propagation field – an area in which rootstock is grown and obtained;

9.2.4. commercial garden;

9.2.5. producing garden – a garden which has been established in order to utilise the fruit grown for personal needs or to profit from the sale of fruit, but which is not a commercial garden;

9.2.6. household garden – a garden that has been established in order to utilise the fruit grown for personal needs;

9.2.7. gene pool – a rootstock genetic resource collection, which belongs to a person who in accordance with the regulatory enactments regarding the collection of specialised agricultural plant species genetic resources has specialised in the collection, storage, characterisation, evaluating and utilising of genetic resources;

9.2.8. mother plant plantation and rootstock propagation field, from which propagation material has been taken, which has been utilised to obtain plants for the nursery, which has been declared the focus of the organism. The origin of the propagating material and the clonal relationship of the propagating material and the plant shall be indicated in the Tree Nursery Book. The planter shall have a mother plant plantation scheme, in which the mother plants utilised for obtaining propagating material are indicated;

9.2.9. a nursery in which plants grow, for the obtaining of which propagating material from the mother plant plantation or rootstock from the rootstock propagation field was utilised, which has been declared as the focus of the organism. The origin of the scion, rootstock and other propagating material and the clonal relationship of the propagating material and the plant which has been utilised to obtain the plant shall be indicated in the Tree Nursery Book. The planter shall have a mother plant plantation scheme, in which the mother plants utilised for obtaining propagating material are indicated;

9.2.10. host plants existing in the wild – an area in a 10 m radius around the infected host plant;

9.2.11. surrounding host plant growing areas (nursery, mother plant plantation and rootstock propagation field) in a 100 m wide belt, if they are managed by one and the same person;

9.2.12. if it has been determined that in an inhabited area there is an infected host plant in a household garden and the Service detects the organism in more than 20% of household gardens, in which the host plants are growing – all of the inhabited territory;

9.2.13. other locations not referred to in this Sub-paragraph – all the plantation;

9.3. shall declare that it is possible that the rest of the host plants located at the focus of the organism are infected;

9.4. shall declare a three kilometre wide buffer zone territory around the focus of the organism and perform examinations of the host plants.

10. The Service shall publish the decision to specify a buffer zone in the newspaper Latvijas Vēstnesis (the official Gazette of the Government of Latvia) and on the Internet homepage of the Service.

11. The Service shall determine the following phytosanitary measures at the focus of the organism:

11.1. prohibit movement of the host plants from the focus of the organism;

11.2. eliminate by incinerating at the nursery:

11.2.1. all the plants within the area where the sample was taken for determining the latent form of the organism, if the organism was found to be present in the sample;

11.2.2. the infected host plant batch, if the organism was found to be present in the container plant;

11.2.3. the infected host plant batch, if visual signs of the organism have been found and the organism has been found in the sample;

11.3. at the rootstock propagation field incinerate the infected host plants, the host plants with visual signs of infection, as well as the host plants, which are growing within a 10 metre radius of the infected host plant or host plant with visual signs of the organism (the distance shall be measured from the trunk of the host plant);

11.4. for mother plants – by incineration eliminate the infected host plant and the host plant with visual signs of the organism, as well as at least the next two host plants in the same row on each side of the infected host plant or host plant with visual signs of the organism, but not less than five metres on each side of the infected host plant or host plant with visual signs of the organism, as well as the surrounding host plants, the crowns of which are in contact with the infected host plant or with the host plant, which has visual signs of the organism;

11.5. in the case referred to in Sub-paragraph 9.2.2 of these Regulations:

11.5.1. prohibit distribution of propagating material from the mother plant plantation and rootstock propagation field during the year, when the organism was determined, and during the following year;

11.5.2. in the year following detection of the organism a visual inspection shall be made of the mother plant plantation and rootstock propagation field and a sample shall be taken from the mother plants and host plants of the rootstock propagation field, that have a clonal relationship with the infected plant batch, for determining the latent form of the organism. If the organism is not detected by the laboratory analyses, the Service shall cancel the phytosanitary measures and permit the distribution of the propagating material;

11.5.3. if the propagating material was obtained from another person, in the year in which the organism was detected a visual inspection shall be made of the mother plant plantation and rootstock propagation field, in the following year a visual inspection shall be made of the mother plant plantation and rootstock propagation field and a sample shall be taken from the host plants of the rootstock propagation field, that have a clonal relationship with the infected plant batch, for determining the latent form of the organism. If the organism is not detected in the laboratory analyses, the Service shall cancel the phytosanitary measures;

11.6. in the case referred to in Sub-paragraph 9.2.3 of these Regulations, in the year in which the organism was detected it shall be prohibited to distribute plants, in the following year a sample shall be taken for determining the latent form of the organism. If the organism is not detected in the laboratory analyses, the Service shall cancel the phytosanitary measures and permit the distribution of the plants;

11.7. in a commercial garden – by incineration eliminate the infected host plant and host plant with visual signs of the organism, as well as at least two host plants in the same row on each side of the host plant or the host plant with visual signs of the organism, but not less than five metres on each side of the host plant or host plant with visual signs of the organism;

11.8. in the gene pool:

11.8.1. by incineration eliminate the infected host plant, the host plant with visual signs of the organism, as well as the surrounding host plants that are in direct contact with the infected host plant or host plant with visual signs of the organism;

11.8.2. if the host plant subject to elimination is the only specimen of the variety in Latvia, it shall be allowed to obtain rehabilitated plants and a time period shall be prescribed for their acquisition, the host plant shall be eliminated after this term and the Service shall prescribe the following:

11.8.2.1. to prune and incinerate host plant branches with visual signs of the organism;

11.8.2.2. every year eliminate the flowers of the host plant;

11.8.2.3. it shall be prohibited to utilise the host plant and the host plants present within a 10 metre radius around it as mother plants;

11.9. an infected host plant, host plant with visual signs of the organism in a plant collection (in botanical gardens, dendraria, tree nurseries, scientific institutions, arboretia) shall be eliminated by incineration, as well as the surrounding host plants, the crowns of which are in contact with the infected host plant or a host plant with visual signs of the organism;

11.10. in producing gardens, household gardens and other sites – an infected host plant, host plant with visual signs of the organism and host plants within a 10 metre radius around the infected host plant or host plant with visual signs of the organism, shall be incinerated;

11.11. after elimination of the host plant, the tools and materials utilised for eliminating the host plant shall be disinfected with household chemicals containing chlorine;

11.12. the scions of the eliminated host plant shall be treated with a plant protection product in accordance with the regulatory enactments regarding plant protection.

12. The host plants shall be eliminated under the supervision of the Service no later than 15 days after receipt of the decision referred to in Paragraph 8 of these Regulations.

13. If the Service, upon performing a repeat inspection of the focus of the organism, during the same vegetative period detects visual signs of the organism on host plants suspected of being infected, phytosanitary measures shall be applied in accordance with Paragraph 11 of these Regulations.

14. In order to restrict the spread of the organism, it shall be prohibited to move bee hives from the focus of the organism or buffer zone or to bring in bee hives into the focus of the organism or buffer zone during the time period which commences with blossoming by the host plant and finishes at least two weeks after the end of blossoming by the host plant.

15. It shall be prohibited to move or distribute propagating material from a nursery, mother plant and rootstock propagating field that is located in a buffer zone. If, in performing an inspection, the Service does not detect a plant with visual signs of the organism, it shall allow the propagating material to be moved and distributed.

16. The Service shall take a decision regarding cancellation of the phytosanitary measures referred to in Paragraphs 9 and 11 of these Regulations if the Service has not detected the organism at the focus of the organism for two successive vegetation periods or visual signs of the organism have not been detected in a household garden for two successive vegetation periods. The Service shall, within five working days of receipt of results of the analyses, take a decision regarding cancellation of the phytosanitary measures.

17. If visual signs of the organism are declared for host plants at points of sale, the Service shall:

17.1. at markets – eliminate the batch of host plants, in which the host plants have been detected to have visual signs of the organism;

17.2. at other points of sale – take samples for laboratory analyses and until their completion prohibit the sale of the consignment of host plants, in which the host plants have been detected to have visual signs of the organism. If it is declared that the organism is present, the Service shall take a decision to eliminate the host plant batch, in which the host plants were detected.

18. If a person requests to take more samples than prescribed in the Annex to these Regulations, he or she shall pay for the taking of samples and laboratory analysis in accordance with the price list of the paid services provided by the State Plant Protection Service as prescribed in regulatory enactments.

Prime Minister I. Godmanis

Minister for Agriculture M. Roze

Cabinet Regulation No.575

21 July 2008
 

Taking Samples for Organism Detection

1. Samples shall be taken from:

1.2. propagating material (plants, rootstock, mother plants) without visual signs for determining latent forms.

2. The following shall be taken as samples from host plants with visual signs of the organism:

2.2. branches from one or more host plants of the same genera:

2.2.1. in the gene pool – one sample from each host plant;

2.2.2. in a commercial garden and producing garden:

2.2.2.1. one sample from each hectare if the area of the garden is up to three hectares;

2.2.2.2. one sample from every three hectares if the area of the garden exceeds three hectares;

2.2.3. for a household garden – not more than one sample per genera;

2.2.4. for a nursery – one sample from each batch;

2.2.5. for a retail site – one sample from each batch;

2.2.6. from other rootstock cultivation sites – one sample;

2.3. a sample may be formed from several host plants of the one monotype. If the host plants have different growing conditions or the host plants with visual signs are growing dispersed, an individual sample shall be taken from these sites.

3. A sample that shall be taken for determining the latent forms for propagating material without visual signs of the organism:

3.2. 100 branches of the same host plant monotype for each 0.1 hectares of area if there are more than 1000 plants of this genera in the plant nursery;

3.3. branches in the amount of 5% of the number of host plants of this monotype, but not less than 30 branches, if there are less than 1000 plants of this genera in the nursery;

3.4. from container plants – 100 branches from one genera host plant for every 1000 plants of this genera in the nursery, branches in the amount of 5% of the number of host plants of the one genera, but not less than 30 branches, if there are less than 1000 plants of this genera in the nursery.

 

Minister for Agriculture M. Roze

Translation © 2009 Tulkošanas un terminoloģijas centrs (Translation and Terminology Centre)