Importation of Irradiated Mango United States from Grenada into the United States Department of Agriculture and Territories Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service A Qualitative, Pathway-Initiated Pest January 24, 2019 Risk Assessment Version 1 Agency Contact: Plant Epidemiology and Risk Analysis Laboratory Science and Technology Plant Protection and Quarantine Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service United States Department of Agriculture 1730 Varsity Drive, Suite 300 Raleigh, NC 27606 Pest Risk Assessment for mango from Grenada Executive Summary The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prepared this risk assessment to examine plant pest risks associated with importing commercially-produced fruit of mango, Mangifera indica (Anacardiaceae), for consumption from Grenada into the United States and Territories. Based on the scientific literature, port-of-entry pest interception data, and information from the government of Grenada, we developed a list of all potential pests with actionable regulatory status for the United States that are known to occur in Grenada (on any host) and to be associated with the commodity plant species (anywhere in the world). Of these, we found two organisms; one weevil (Sternochetus mangiferae) and one fruit fly (Anastrepha obliqua), that have a reasonable likelihood of being associated with the commodity following harvesting from the field and standard washing practices, and thus are potentially able to follow the pathway. Ver. 1 January 24, 2019 i Pest Risk Assessment for mango from Grenada Table of Contents Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................... i 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 3 1.1. Background .......................................................................................................................... 3 1.2. Initiating event ...................................................................................................................... 3 1.3. Determination of the necessity of a weed risk assessment for the commodity .................... 3 1.4. Description of the pathway................................................................................................... 3 2. Pest List ...................................................................................................................................... 4 2.1. Pests considered but not included on the pest list ................................................................ 4 2.2. Pest list ................................................................................................................................. 5 3. Pest List Summary .................................................................................................................... 9 4. Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... 9 5. Literature Cited ........................................................................................................................ 9 6. Appendix: Pests with non-actionable regulatory status ...................................................... 15 Ver. 1 January 24, 2019 ii Pest Risk Assessment for Mango from Grenada 1. Introduction 1.1. Background The Plant Epidemiology and Risk Analysis Laboratory of Science and Technology, Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ), USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) prepared this document to evaluate the pest risk associated with the importation of commercially-produced fresh mango fruit (Mangifera indica L.) for consumption from Grenada into the United States and Territories. 1.2. Initiating event The importation of fruits and vegetables for consumption into the United States is regulated under Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 319.56. Under this regulation, the entry of mangoes from Grenada into the United States is not authorized. Grenada has previously exported mangoes to the United States, but in 1999, the United States stopped the importation of Grenada mangoes because the mango seed weevil [Sternochetus mangiferae (F.)] became established in Grenada. To reduce the risk associated with the mango seed weevil, Grenada has now proposed to irradiate the mangoes they ship to the United States (Lewis, 2018). This commodity risk assessment was initiated by a request from the Grenada Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment to change the Federal regulation to allow entry of Grenada mangoes (Lewis, 2018). 1.3. Determination of the necessity of a weed risk assessment for the commodity A weed risk assessment is not needed for mango because the commodity is already grown in the United States. 1.4. Description of the pathway A pathway is “any means that allows the entry or spread of a pest” (IPPC, 2016). In the context of this risk assessment, the pathway is the commodity to be imported, together with all the processes the commodity undergoes, prior to its entry into the United States, that may have an impact on pest risk. In this risk assessment, the specific pathway of concern is the importation of fresh mango fruit (Mangifera indica L.) for consumption from Grenada into the United States and Territories. The movement of this commodity provides a potential pathway for the introduction and spread of plant pests. The following pathway description focuses on the conditions that may affect plant pest risk, including morphological and physiological characteristics of the commodity, as well as processes that the commodity will undergo from production in Grenada up to entry in the United States. These conditions provided the basis for creating the pest list and assessing the likelihoods of entry. Hence, evaluating the likelihood of entry in this risk assessment was contingent upon the application of all components of the pathway as described. 1.4.1. Description of the commodity Mango is a major fruit crop of the tropics and subtropics, particularly in Asia (Mukherjee and Litz, 2009). The mango tree, native to southern Asia, can range in height from 10 to 40 m. The Ver. 1 January 24, 2019 3 Pest Risk Assessment for Mango from Grenada fruit is a large, fleshy drupe, with great variation in form, size (2.5 to over 30 cm in length), and color, depending on the cultivar (Morton, 1987; Mukherjee and Litz, 2009). For this risk assessment, we considered that only the fruit of the mango (i.e., no other plant parts) would be imported. 1.4.2. Production and harvest procedures in the exporting area Production and harvesting procedures in the exporting area are not being considered as part of the assessment. 1.4.3. Post-harvest procedures in the exporting area Mangoes produced in Grenada will be washed in a hypochlorite solution prior to shipment (Peters, 2018). Post-harvest processing of commercial export-quality mango fruit always involves washing (by hand or machine) to remove sap (Johnson and Hofman, 2009; Nakasone and Paull, 1998). Sap degrades the fruit by causing lesions and rotting (Morton, 1987; Nakasone and Paull, 1998). 1.4.4. Shipping conditions Grenada expects to export approximately 30 shipments, equating to about 360,000 kg, of mangoes to the United States each year. Mangoes will be flown to the United States between April and October (Peters, 2018). 1.4.5. Post-harvest procedures in the importing area Mangoes will be irradiated in certified facilities (Lewis, 2018) after arrival into the United States to treat the mango seed weevil. However, we did not consider irradiation as a factor when determining the pest list. 2. Pest List This pest list is a compilation of all plant pests with actionable regulatory status for the United States and Territories that are present in Grenada (on any host) and associated with Mangifera indica (anywhere in the world). Species on the pest list with a reasonable likelihood of being present on mango at the time of harvest and remaining on the fruit after standard washing procedures could follow the pathway into the United States. Pests are considered to be of regulatory significance if they are actionable at U.S. ports-of-entry. Actionable pests include quarantine pests, regulated non-quarantine pests, pests under official control or considered for official control, and pests that require evaluation for regulatory action. 2.1. Pests considered but not included on the pest list 2.1.1. Pests with weak evidence for association with the commodity or for presence in the export area Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann), Anastrepha suspensa (Loew), and Toxotrypana curvicauda Gerstaecker are present in countries surrounding Grenada; however, we found no evidence that they occur in Grenada. Therefore, we did not include them on the pest list. Rosellinia bunodes (Berk. & Broome) Sacc. is present in Grenada (CABI, 1985) and is associated with Mangifera spp. (Watson, 1971) but we were unable to associate this pathogen Ver. 1 January 24, 2019 4 Pest Risk Assessment for Mango from Grenada specifically with Mangifera indica. The pathogen occurs in the “roots and crowns of hosts” (Watson, 1971). It is unclear if it is restricted to wood. The United States has no port policy for R. bunodes, but the species is present in Hawaii (Rogers and Ju, 2012). 2.1.2. Organisms with non-actionable regulatory status We found evidence of the