APHIS Amends Entry Requirements for Certain Canadian Plants
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is amending entry requirements for the importation of certain plants from Canada to prevent the introduction of box tree moth (Cydalima perspectalis), the agency said in a Dec. 21 bulletin. APHIS said the moth was detected in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
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APHIS said the moth is a "serious pest" of boxwood (Buxus spp.) and curry leaf tree (Murraya spp.) species, which are pathways for the pest to enter the U.S. Symptoms of the moth include "green-black frass and silk threads on the host plant," the agency said. Larvae feeding on leaves and bark can kill affected plants.
APHIS is requiring that Buxus spp. plants for planting that are produced in Canada be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate with a declaration stating “the Buxus plants have been produced in a pest-free area for Cydalima perspectalis." Imports of curry leaf tree are already considered by APHIS "Not Authorized Pending Pest Risk Analysis," the agency said.
APHIS also is removing restrictions for the box tree moth on Euonymus and Ilex plants after it conducted a "non-Buxus host range assessment for" the moth, "which concluded Ilex spp. are not hosts and identified conflicting reports of Euonymus alatus and E. japonicus being hosts."
The agency also is recognizing the province of British Columbia as a "pest-free area for" the box tree moth but said imports of Buxus spp. plants produced in an area not certified by the Canada Food Inspection Agency as a pest-free area remain prohibited. Buxus plants produced in the Canadian Nursery Certification Program or Greenhouse Certification Program also are "ineligible for US importation unless the facilities are located in a pest-free area," APHIS said.
This decision was based on the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's decision to add the box tree moth to its "regulated pest list," the agency said.