United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Plant Protection and Quarantine Importation of Persimmon, Diospyros kaki Thunb., as Fresh Fruit with Calyxes from Japan into the United States Risk Management Document April 21, 2015 Plant Health Programs (PHP) Regulations, Permits and Manuals (RPM) Contact Person: David Lamb Introduction APHIS received a request to import persimmon fruits into the United States from the National Plant Protection Organization of Japan (NPPO). A pathway-initiated pest risk assessment (PRA) was prepared by APHIS’s Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) to identify the unmitigated pest risks associated with importation of persimmon fruits with calyxes from Japan (USDA, 2013). The PRA was prepared based on pest interception data, scientific literature, and information provided by the Government of Japan. The PRA identified quarantine pests of D. kaki that occur in Japan and that could be introduced into the United States (continental United States, Alaska and Hawaii) in commercial consignments. The PRA identified ten arthropods and nine fungi likely to follow the pathway of persimmons with calyxes from Japan. Arthropods: Mites Tenuipalpus zhizhilashviliae Reck Acari: Tenuipalpidae Lepidoptera Conogethes punctiferalis (Guenée) Lepidoptera: Pyralidae Homonopsis illotana (Kennel) Lepidoptera: Tortricidae Lobesia aeolopa Meyrick Lepidoptera: Tortricidae Stathmopoda masinissa Meyrick Lepidoptera: Oecophoridae Mealybugs Crisicoccus matsumotoi (Siraiwa) Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae Pseudococcus cryptus Hempel Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae Thrips Ponticulothrips diospyrosi Haga & Okajima Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood Thysanoptera: Thripidae Thrips coloratus Schmutz Thysanoptera: Thripidae Fungi: Adisciso kaki Yamamoto et al. Ascomycetes: Amphisphaeriaceae Colletotrichum horii B. Weir & P.R. Johnst. Ascomycetes: Phyllachorales Cryptosporiopsis kaki (Hara) Weindlm. Ascomycetes, Incertae sedis) Mycosphaerella nawae Hiura & Ikata Ascomycetes: Mycosphaerellales Pestalotia diospyri Syd. and P. Syd. Ascomycetes: Xylariales Pestalotiopsis acaciae (Thümen) Yokoyama & Kaneko Ascomycetes: Xylariales Pestalotiopsis crassiuscula Steyaert Ascomycetes: Xylariales Phoma kakivora Hara Ascomycetes: Pleosporales Phoma loti Cooke Ascomycetes: Pleosporales The PRA assigned High pest risk potentials to the arthropods Conogethes punctiferalis, Homonopsis illotana, Lobesia aeolopa, Pseudococcus cryptus, and Scirtothrips dorsalis and the 2 fungus Pestalotia diospyri. All other quarantine pests were rated Medium pest risk potential. The proposed movement of persimmon fruits with calyxes from Japan, if approved, would be regulated by an amendment to existing fruit and vegetable import regulations (7 CFR §319.56). Pest risk management is the process of identifying ways to react to a perceived risk, evaluating the efficacy of these actions, and identifying the most appropriate options (IPPC, 2004). This document outlines phytosanitary measures and provides evidence of their efficacy in preventing the introduction of quarantine pests. The appropriate level of protection may be achieved through the application of a single phytosanitary measure, such as establishment of pest free areas, pest free place of production or a quarantine treatment, or a combination of measures in a systems approach. APHIS PPQ Oversight and Operational Workplan The NPPO of Japan and APHIS will develop an operational workplan that details the activities that the growers will carry out to meet the requirements of the systems approach. The Japan NPPO or their designate will be directly involved with the monitoring and auditing implementation of the systems approach. The NPPO of Japan will ensure that each grower has a pest surveillance and orchard pest control program and follows all requirements of this systems approach. The NPPO of Japan will ensure that all records related to program activities are maintained for at least 1 year and, as requested, provide them to APHIS for review. The NPPO of Japan may delegate oversight of program activities to independent auditing organizations. Risk Management Measures Persimmon fruits with calyxes from Japan may only be imported to the United States if they have been grown and packed using a systems approach including all of the following risk management measures: 1. Only commercial consignments of persimmons may be imported. Persimmons must be grown in approved places of production (orchards) that are registered with NPPO of Japan. The NPPO of Japan will approve all places of production and ensure they meet all of the requirements of the systems approach. NPPO of Japan will visit and inspect the places of production monthly, beginning at blossom drop and continuing until the end of the shipping season. 2. Growers must adhere to orchard control programs approved by NPPO of Japan for control of arthropods and fungi of quarantine concern. This IPM program includes monitoring and treatments for major pests, including plant pathogens, in the orchards following field practices jointly agreed by APHIS and NPPO of Japan. 3. Packinghouses must be registered with NPPO of Japan. During the time each packinghouse is in use for shipping persimmons to the United States, fruit for export to the United States must 3 be segregated from other fruit. The packinghouse may only accept fruit for export to the United States from registered, approved places of production. NPPO of Japan will audit packinghouse operations to verify that the packinghouses are complying with the requirements of the systems approach. If NPPO of Japan finds that a place of production or packinghouse is not complying with the requirements of the systems approach, no fruit from the place of production or packinghouse will be eligible for export to the United States until NPPO of Japan conducts an investigation and appropriate remedial actions have been implemented. 4. Any damaged, disease-infected, arthropod-infested, or deformed fruit and fruits with surface pests must be culled before or during packing. Culled fruit must be removed from the packinghouse. 5. Box markings identifying each orchard and packing house will be required so that consignments can be traced back to groves or places of production. 6. A biometric sample (jointly agreed upon by NPPO of Japan and APHIS) of persimmon fruit must be inspected following any post-harvest processing. A biometric sample will be visually inspected for quarantine pests including fungal diseases, and a portion of the fruit will be cut open to detect internal pests. If quarantine pests are found, the entire lot of fruit will be prohibited from export under the systems approach to the United States. 7. Consigments must be accompanied by a Phytosanitary Certificate with Additional Declaration stating “Fruit in this consignment was inspected and found free of quarantine pests; the consignment was produced under and meets all the components of the systems approach". 8. All persimmons imported into the United States are subject to inspection for pests of quarantine concern at the port of entry by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Efficacy of Risk Management Measures A systems approach made up of multiple mitigations can provide an alternative to single measure mitigation, such as a standalone quarantine treatment, to meet the appropriate level of phytosanitary protection, or can be developed to provide phytosanitary protection in situations in which no single measure is available (IPPC, 2002). For example, Hass avocados from Mexico have been produced and exported to the United States under a systems approach for Stenoma catenifer, seed and stem weevils and fruit flies. The Mexican avocado program included a field program to maintain pest free and pest low prevalence areas. The systems approach combines field inspection for pests with cutting of samples at the packing house, and sampling by CBP at the first port of entry to the United States. Since 2004, approximately 181,000 consigments totaling over 3.2 million metric tons of Hass avocadoes from Mexico have been imported into the United States (AQAS, 2014). None of the pests have ever been intercepted in commercial consigments of avocados under the systems approach since Mexico was granted market access in 1997 (AQAS, 2014). Based on the success of this program, APHIS has modified it and removed or modified components that are not required to remove pests from the pathway. 4 The systems approach of risk management measures for Japan persimmons includes: Workplan and oversight with orchard and packing facility certification and traceback Orchard control of key pests Culling all pest-infested and damaged persimmons at the packing house Sampling of packed persimmons will include cutting of some fruit to inspect for internally feeding Lepidoptera larvae and visual inspection for diseases Phytosanitary Certificate with an Additional Declaration stating freedom of pests of concern U.S. port of entry inspection. The NPPO of Japan or their designate will provide oversight to the systems approach through a workplan that details the growers’ responsibilities. The NPPO of Japan will ensure that each grower follows the field and industry practices jointly agreed by APHIS and NPPO of Japan and follows all requirements of this systems approach. Any grower that does not comply with the required pest management will not be allowed to export. APHIS may monitor the places of production