APHIS Places New Restrictions on Tomato Imports Effective Sept. 13
Imports of tomatoes containing vines, stems or calyces from tomato leafminer-infested countries will no longer be allowed by the Animal Plant Health and Inspection Service effective Sept. 13, APHIS said in a federal order issued Aug. 14. The federal order also updated the trapping requirements for tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta, for detection and surveillance. This federal order updates and replaces the previous Tuta absoluta Federal Order DA-26, dated May 5, 2011.
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According to the order, APHIS will require that tomatoes imported under a systems approach from Tuta absoluta-infested countries not contain vines, stems or calyces to prevent the introduction and establishment of T. absoluta.
APHIS will also reduce the current trapping requirements for tomato leafminer from a minimum trapping rate of 5 traps per hectare to 2 traps per hectare because new research indicates that a minimum of 2 traps per hectare is sufficient to detect Tuta absoluta in the pest exclusionary structures.
APHIS said it will continue to prohibit the entry of plants for planting of Solanum spp., Datura spp. and Nicotiana spp., which are also hosts of T. absoluta, from countries where the tomato leafminer is known to occur pending the completion of a pest risk analysis and the implementation of appropriate mitigation measures.