- 3.3.1 Pest categorisation
- 3.3.2 Overall assessment of risk
- 3.4 Tortricinae spp.
- 3.4.1 Pest categorisation
3.3 Pseudococcidae spp.
3.3.1 Pest categorisation
Appendix 1 of the draft IRA lists all pest species known to be associated with apple in New Zealand (table 15). Included in this list are 10 species of the family Pseudococcidae. Of these, six species are considered by AFFA to be present in the entry pathway and therefore of quarantine interest. However, all six species are already established in Australia and are therefore not of concern. This list was compiled from pest lists supplied by MAF and additional literature searches. Two pest lists were supplied by MAF, one included pests recorded in association with apple fruit only, and the other included pests associated with parts of the apple plant other than fruit.
The apple fruit pest list has been built up from published records, pest identifications (from 1979 onwards), a pipfruit survey (carried out in 1990/91) and over 20 years of USDA pre-clearance identification records. Pre-clearance records are records of all organisms found on export apples and apple cartons. The pest list is updated annually to include any new species identified during the season. On the apple fruit pest list, a number of pests have been listed at family or sub family level. This is because a specimen may have been damaged or immature, or because there was no need to identify the specimen any further (depending on the export market).
The apple pest list includes a Pseudococcidae sp. record but this is almost certainly one of the 10 species mentioned specifically elsewhere in the pest list. MAF has in place an official surveillance system for mealybugs as part of USDA pre-clearance program. In this program adult Pseudococcids are identified to species level to monitor any changes in the mealybug species complex (as USDA do not require immature mealybugs to be identified). This surveillance data provides evidence to support our contention that all mealybugs on apple fruit are those listed on the apple pest list.
3.3.2 Overall assessment of risk
Based on this information, New Zealand considers that AFFA should remove the reference to un-named Pseudococcidae species from the draft IRA as all Pseudococcidae recorded on apple from New Zealand are non-actionable. New Zealand asks that AFFA follows a consistent decision making approach to dealing with these sorts of records. For example, AFFA has concluded that a Graphania sp. record is most likely Graphania mutans.
| New Zealand requests that AFFA remove any reference to Pseudoccocidae spp. from the draft IRA, as all species found on apple fruit are non-actionable. |
3.4 Tortricinae spp.
3.4.1 Pest categorisation
AFFA states that "Tortricinae species were not identified to specific level, which makes it impossible to assess whether the species concerned are present in Australia". A list of all Tortricinae species recorded in New Zealand was sent to AFFA along with the other data sheets. As discussed above in the Pseudococcidae section, the apple fruit pest list contains records from over 20 years of export inspection records. Any members of the Tortricinae family that have been found on apple fruit have been identified to species level and are individually recorded on the apple pest list presented to AFFA. AFFA assessed the risk of these species and four were considered to present a risk above Australia's appropriate level of protection (ALOP). Again New Zealand asks that AFFA apply a consistent approach to decision making (as for Graphania sp.) and remove the "Tortricinae" record from the draft IRA.
| New Zealand requests that consideration of Tortricinae spp. is removed from the draft IRA, and that AFFA only considers those species it considers to be above the ALOP. |
Contact for Enquiries
MAF Information Services
Pastoral House
25 The Terrace
PO Box 2526
Wellington, NEW ZEALAND
Fax: +64 4 894 0721
Contact this person
