Quarantine of Plants

Quarantine of Plants 

the group of measures taken by the state to prevent the introduction and spread of the pests, diseases, and weeds presenting the greatest danger to farm crops.

The quarantine of plants is aimed at protecting the plant resources of the nation. Each year plant pests and diseases destroy 20-25 percent of the potential world harvest of food crops (equaling $50 billion, according to the average price level on the world market). According to the calculations (1969) of the All-Union Scientific Research Institute for Plant Protection, the value of the farm products that could be obtained on the kolkhozes and sovkhozes of the USSR by eliminating the probable annual crop losses caused by pests, diseases, and weeds would come to around 10 billion rubles.

The first law on the quarantine of plants appeared in France in 1660 in response to epiphytotics of stem rust. From 1870 through 1915, quarantine laws were passed by a majority of the nations with developed agricultural production that were involved in the exchange of plant materials (Germany, France, Australia, Austria, the United States, Mexico). By the 1970’s, more than 100 nations had established quarantine regulations and had set up institutions for supervising their execution. In Russia, the first quarantine law for plants was issued in 1873. In 1931 the USSR created a quarantine service that exercises general leadership over quarantine measures through the State Quarantine Inspectorate of the Central Administration for Plant Protection (under the Ministry of Agriculture of the USSR), along with republic and oblast quarantine inspectorates that are subordinate to it. In the same year, the first list of quarantine diseases and pests was established. In 1935 a list of quarantine weeds was established as well. These lists are periodically revised as the various types of harmful organisms are studied (area of distribution, biology, ecology) and the quarantine state of foreign countries reviewed. (The list approved in 1967 contained the quarantine pests listed in Table 1, the diseases listed in Table 2, and the weeds listed in Table 3.)

Table 1. Quarantine pests
1Quarantine measures applied to produce imported from abroad
Common name	Latin name
Not reported in the USSR
Scale insects and mealybugs
Citrus scale	Unaspis citri
Eastern citrus scale	Unaspis japonensis
Citrus mealybug	Pseudococcus citriculus
Fig scale	Ceroplastes rusci
Beetles
White-fringed weevil	Pantomorus leucoloma
Khapra beetle	Trogoderma granarium
Southern cowpea weevil	Callosobruchus chinensis
Cowpea weevil	Callosobruchus maculatus
Broad-nosed grain weevil	Caulophilus latinasus
Japanese beetle	Popillia japonica
Butterflies and moths
Potato moth	Phthorimaea opercullela
Pink bollworm	Pectinophora gossypiella
Flies
Mandarin fruit fly	Tetradacus citri
Mediterranean fruit fly	Ceratitis capitata
Apple maggot	Rhagoletis pomonella
Limited distribution in the USSR
Plant lice and aphids
Grape phylloxera (vine louse)	Viteus vitifoliae
Whiteflies
Common citrus whitefly	Dialeurodes citri
Scale insects and mealybugs
Cottony-cushion scale	Icerya purchasi
San Jose scale	Quadraspidiotus perniciosus
White peach scale	Pseudaulacaspis pentagona
Citrophilus mealybug	Pseudococcus gahani
Comstock mealybug	Pseudococcus comstocki
Japanese wax scale	Ceroplastes japonicus
Japanese peony scale	Pseudaonidia paeoniae
Japanese bacillary scale	Leucaspis japonica
Beetles
Apple borer	Agrilus mali
Colorado potato beetle	Leptinotarsa decemlineata
Butterflies and moths
Fall webworm	Hyphantria cunea
Oriental fruit moth	Grapholitha delineana
Hemp tortrix1	Grapholitha molesta
Hollyhock seed moth	Pectinophora malvella
Peach moth	Carposina sasakii
Citrus moth1	Phylocnistis citrella

The duties of the quarantine service include the inspection of plants, seeds, planting stock, grain products, fruits, and vegetables

Table 2. Quarantine plant diseases
Disease	Causative agent
Not reported in the USSR
Cotton anthracnose	Colletotrichum gossypii
Ascochyta blight of chrysanthemum	Ascochyta chrysanthemi
Bacterial wilt of corn	Bacterium stenarti
Bacterial citrus cancer	Xanthomonas citri
White rust of chrysanthemum	Puccinia horiana
Viral diseases of citrus (tristeza, quick decline, yellow dragon)	Virus sp. sp.
India wheat bunt	Neovossia indica
Fire blight	Erwinia amylovora
Silver leaf of beets	Corynebacterium betae
Texas root rot	Ozonium omnivorum
Limited distribution in the USSR
Flax pasmo	Septoria linicola
Root knot of potatoes	Heterodera rostochiensis
Potato wart	Synchytrium endobioticum
Plum pox	Prunus virus 7

Table 3. Quarantine weeds
Common name	Latin name	Biological type
Not reported in the USSR
Coastal ragweed	Ambrosia maritima	Annual
Poverty weed	Iva axillaris	Soboliferous perennial
Trompillo (white horse nettle)	Solanum elaeagnifolium	Soboliferous perennial
Cut-leaved nightshade	Solanum triflorum	Annual
California sunflower	Helianthus californicus	Perennial
Blueweed	Helianthus ciliaris	Perennial
Prairie sunflower	Helianthus petiolaris	Annual
Stiff sunflower	Helianthus scaberrimus	Annual
Helianthus, all other weed species	Helianthus spp.	Perennials and annuals
Striga, all species	Striga spp.	Root Semi~arasites
Limited distribution in the USSR
Western ragweed	Ambrosia psilostachya	Soboliferous perennial
Common ragweed	Ambrosia artemisiifolia	Annual
Great ragweed	Ambrosia trifida	Annual
Mountain bluet	Acropotilon repens	Soboliferous perennial
Horse nettle	Solanum carolinense	Soboliferous perennial
Buffalo bur (prickly nightshade)	Solanum rostratum	Annual
Common sunflower	Helianthus lenticularis	Annual
Dodders, all species	Cuscuta spp.	Stem parasites
Sandbur grass	Cenchrus tribuloides	Annual

in order to uncover the presence of dangerous pests, the pathogens of plant diseases, and quarantine weeds in large commercial lots and packages, in the parcels, hand luggage, and baggage of passengers arriving from other states, and in the vehicles, warehouses, and enterprises where imported products subject to quarantine are stored and processed. Internal quarantine regulates the shipping of plant materials within the country; external quarantine protects the state against foreign pests, diseases, and weeds.

The plant quarantine service of the USSR operates in cooperation with the equivalent service in other states. In 1956 the USSR joined the international Rome Convention on Plant Quarantine and Protection. In 1957 it joined the European and Mediterranean Organization for Plant Protection. In 1960 it ratified the Cooperative Agreement Plant Quarantine and Protection, concluded between the member states of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance. In addition, bilateral agreements have been established with 11 neighboring states stipulating reciprocal obligations for combating dangerous plant pests, diseases, and weeds.

REFERENCES

Karantin rastenii v SSSR. Edited by A. L. Efimov and N. S. Shcherbinovskii. Moscow, 1937.
Dvadtsatiletnie itogi karantinnoi ekspertizy importnykh rastite’nykh materialov (1931-1951). Moscow-Leningrad, 1952.
Ustav gosudarstvennoi sluzhby po karantinu rastenii v SSSR. Moscow, 1962.
Vrediteli, bolezni i sorniaki, obnaruzhennye v importnykh rastite’nykh gruzakh: Vsesoiuznaia svodka s 1937 po 1959 g. Moscow, 1964.
Spravochnik po karantinnym i drugim opasnym vrediteliam, bolezniam i sornym rasteniiam, 2nd ed. Moscow, 1970.

A. D. SOKOLOV, N. N. SHUTOVA, and L. P. KUZ’MINA