Abstract Article 42 of the European Regulation (EU) 2016/2031, on the protective measures against pests of plants, introduces the concept of ‘high risk plants, plant products and other objects’ that are identified on the basis of a preliminary assessment to be followed by a commodity risk assessment. Following a request of the European Commission, this Guidance was developed to establish the methodology to be followed when performing a commodity risk assessment for high risk commodities (high risk plants, plant products and other objects). The commodity risk assessment performed by EFSA will be based on the information provided by the National Plant Protection Organisations of non‐EU countries requesting a lifting of import prohibition of a high risk commodity. Following international standards on pest risk analysis, this Guidance describes a two‐step approach for the assessment of pest risk associated with a specified commodity. In the first step, pests, associated with the commodity, that require risk mitigation measures are identified. In the second step, the overall efficacy of proposed risk reduction options for each pest is evaluated. A conclusion on the pest‐freedom status of the commodity is achieved. The method requires key uncertainties to be identified.

Predicting shifts in the distribution and abundance of pest organisms relies on an accurate forecasting of their response to climate change. The oak processionary moth (OPM) Thaumetopoea processionea causes serious damages to oak trees in forest, urban and other landscapes as well as severe allergic reactions to humans and animals. In the 1990's and 2000's, the OPM extended its range from mainland Europe and the Middle East into northern Europe. In 2005, it was also accidentally introduced in the United Kingdom. Moreover, the intensity and the frequency of OPM outbreaks are thought to have recently increased in several countries of Europe including Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria. In the present study, we aimed at forecasting the potential distribution of the OPM in Europe under current and future climate conditions. We thoroughly compiled available records of established populations all across Europe and fitted MaxEnt and BIOCLIM models to infer bioclimatic requirements for this species. Both models showed good predictive performance under current climate conditions. In particular, the surroundings of London where the OPM recently got established were predicted as highly climatically suitable. Models also predicted that many parts of northern Europe where the OPM currently does not occur (e.g. central UK, Wales, Ireland, southern Scotland, Denmark, southern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula, etc.) might become climatically suitable by 2050. Our predictions warrant the need for proper communication and management planning around the risks associated with the potential expansion of the OPM in Europe.

This report considers the prospects for increasing the use of quantitative models for plant pest spread and dispersal in EFSA Plant Health risk assessments. The agreed major aims were to provide an overview of current modelling approaches and their strengths and weaknesses for risk assessment, and to develop and test a system for risk assessors to select appropriate models for application. First, we conducted an extensive literature review, based on protocols developed for systematic reviews. The review located 468 models for plant pest spread and dispersal and these were entered into a searchable and secure Electronic Model Inventory database. A cluster analysis on how these models were formulated allowed us to identify eight distinct major modelling strategies that were differentiated by the types of pests they were used for and the ways in which they were parameterised and analysed. These strategies varied in their strengths and weaknesses, meaning that no single approach was the most useful for all elements of risk assessment. Therefore we developed a Decision Support Scheme (DSS) to guide model selection. The DSS identifies the most appropriate strategies by weighing up the goals of risk assessment and constraints imposed by lack of data or expertise. Searching and filtering the Electronic Model Inventory then allows the assessor to locate specific models within those strategies that can be applied. This DSS was tested in seven case studies covering a range of risk assessment scenarios, pest types and dispersal mechanisms. These demonstrate the effectiveness of the DSS for selecting models that can be applied to contribute to EFSA Plant Health risk assessments. Therefore, quantitative spread and dispersal modelling has potential to improve current risk assessment protocols and contribute to reducing the serious impacts of plant pests in Europe.

International audience | The international seed trade is considered relatively safe from a phytosanitary point of view and is therefore less regulated than trade in other plants for planting. However, the pests carried by traded seeds are not well known. We assessed insects and fungi in 58 traded seed lots of 11 gymnosperm and angiosperm tree species from North America, Europe, and Asia. Insects were detected by X-raying and molecular methods. The fungal community was characterized using high-throughput sequencing (HTS) and by growing fungi on non-selective agar. About 30% of the seed lots contained insect larvae. Gymnosperms contained mostly hymenopteran (Megastigmus spp.) and dipteran (Cecidomyiidae) larvae, while angiosperms contained lepidopteran (Cydia latiferreana) and coleopteran (Curculio spp.) larvae. HTS indicated the presence of fungi in all seed lots and fungi grew on non-selective agar from 96% of the seed lots. Fungal abundance and diversity were much higher than insect diversity and abundance, especially in angiosperm seeds. Almost 50% of all fungal exact sequence variants (ESVs) found in angiosperms were potential pathogens, in comparison with around 30% of potentially pathogenic ESVs found in gymnosperms. The results of this study indicate that seeds may pose a greater risk of pest introduction than previously believed or accounted for. A rapid risk assessment suggests that only a small number of species identified in this study is of phytosanitary concern. However, more research is needed to enable better risk assessment, especially to increase knowledge about the potential for transmission of fungi to seedlings and the host range and impact of identified species.

This document describes guidance on dossier evaluation for the registration of pest control products in Kenya. The document provides guidance for the assessment of a limited number of aspects that are part of evaluation of a pest control product registration dossier. It should therefore not be considered as a complete pesticide evaluation manual, though it is intended to contribute to a future complete pest control product evaluation manual for Kenya. The guidance should be read together with an im plementation report which contains stepping stones for further development.The guidance was developed within the Pesticide management initiative East African Region: Kenya (PEAR -Kenya) project. The project ran in the period 2016 – 2019 and was sponsored and supported by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and the Embassy of the Netherlands in Nairobi.The guidance addresses various aspects of a pest control product evaluation covering low risk pest control products, microbial pest control product, chemical pest control products and equivalence determination. The evaluation procedures developed covers a fast-track pathway for low risk products. For microbial products the procedure focusses on identification, human pathology and infectiveness and hazard and risk assessments for metabolites of potential concern. For chemical products the procedure includes methods for human health and pollinator risk assessments. The evaluation process of new pest control products can be speeded up if the active ingredient or active agent of a new product proves to be equivalent to an already registered product.

This document describes guidance on dossier evaluation for the registration of pest control products in Kenya. The document provides guidance for the assessment of a limited number of aspects that are part of evaluation of a pest control product registration dossier. It should therefore not be considered as a complete pesticide evaluation manual, though it is intended to contribute to a future complete pest control product evaluation manual for Kenya. The guidance should be read together with an im plementation report which contains stepping stones for further development.The guidance was developed within the Pesticide management initiative East African Region: Kenya (PEAR -Kenya) project. The project ran in the period 2016 – 2019 and was sponsored and supported by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and the Embassy of the Netherlands in Nairobi.The guidance addresses various aspects of a pest control product evaluation covering low risk pest control products, microbial pest control product, chemical pest control products and equivalence determination. The evaluation procedures developed covers a fast-track pathway for low risk products. For microbial products the procedure focusses on identification, human pathology and infectiveness and hazard and risk assessments for metabolites of potential concern. For chemical products the procedure includes methods for human health and pollinator risk assessments. The evaluation process of new pest control products can be speeded up if the active ingredient or active agent of a new product proves to be equivalent to an already registered product.

Following a series of requests for scientific advice from the European Commission starting in 2013, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) conducted a pest risk assessment and created a comprehensive Xylella fastidiosa host plant database. The last update of the database, published in September 2018, includes information on host plants of both X. fastidiosa and X. taiwanensis, together with details on botanical classification, infection conditions, geographic location, pathogen taxonomy including information on subspecies, strain and sequence type, detection techniques, and tolerant/resistant response of the plant. This updated database of host plants of Xylella spp. reported worldwide provides a key tool for risk management, risk assessment, and research on this generalist bacterial plant pathogen.

Organic farming is an environmentally friendly farming system that produces food based on the ecological balance of ecosystems, preventing soil fertility decline or pest problems. It is a proactive alternate approach to intensive agriculture, minimizing its adverse effects and contributing to maintaining soil quality and enhancing biodiversity. Pests represent a threat to crops, causing important damage and economic losses, and therefore they must be controlled. This is especially relevant in organic farming, where the environment and human health should be protected and thus the methods available for pest management are limited. When intervention against pests is necessary, farmers can either use preventive actions or direct control methods, always based on a weighted decision-making process. Regarding the options for pest management, there are often different possibilities, which may vary in efficacy, resource-intensiveness, knowledge and technical skills, and risk. For this reason, risk assessment is essential for efficient use of the available resources and crop protection strategies. This chapter aims to cover different strategies of pest and disease control, from preventive methods to direct intervention methods of different natures. | info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The widely used Köppen–Geiger climate classification system can inform judgements of establishment during pest categorizations and systems of simplified pest risk assessment. Such processes allow national plant protection organizations to quickly identify plant pests of potential regulatory concern. Judging whether a pest can establish is a key factor in determining whether a pest satisfies the definition of a quarantine pest. Climate is often a significant factor influencing where species can establish. Here, we provide a resource that reports the Köppen–Geiger climate classification at a range of spatial scales from sub‐national to continental for the period 1986–2010 in an accessible table. The data is provided as a resource for pest risk analysis to inform and support rapid decision‐making. An online appendix is provided showing the number of grid cells in each of the 31 Köppen–Geiger climate types in 417 regions across the globe at country level or less. Thirteen climate types occur within the European Union (EU), the most common is ‘temperate oceanic’ occupying 48% of EU grid cells. Twenty‐four of 31 climate types occur within the EPPO region; the most common is ‘continental, uniform precipitation with cold summer’, occupying 35% of EPPO grid cells.

This book aims to organize the published environmental impact information on pesticides into a usable form to help growers and other integrated pest management practitioners make more environmentally sound pesticide choices. This book deals with all kinds of risks, such as risk to aquifers and aquatic organisms such as fish; risk to pollinators; risk to human health; risk to soil microflora and fauna; and risk to terrestrial organisms such as arthropods and wildlife, associated with the use of individual pesticides and their mixtures, their method of estimation and risk assessment using various tools. Remediation and management details are duly elaborated. The book also includes regulatory perspectives and covers various aspects of remediation for reducing the risk associated with pesticides.