Government updates the standard for the control and eradication of certain pests that affect citrus

21 Feb. () –

The Council of Ministers approved this Tuesday, at the proposal of the
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, a royal decree establishing the national program for the control and eradication of the Trioza erytreae pest (African citrus psyllid), as well as the prevention program for Diaphorina citri (Asian citrus psyllid). citrus) and the bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter spp (HLB).

Specifically, this new standard adapts the regulations contained in Royal Decree 23/2016, of January 22, to the adjustments included in European legislation and to scientific advances in the control of the Trioza erytreae pest.

Agriculture has specified that in order to provide greater legal certainty, and given that various articles are modified, it has been deemed necessary to approve a new standard and repeal the royal decree of 2016.

The main objective of this update is to reinforce the actions in the event of detecting outbreaks of the aforementioned pests and to improve and promote the commercial exchange of vegetables.

On the one hand, eradication measures have been adapted in the case of the presence of transmitting organisms without the presence of HLB, incorporating biological control as a complement to phytosanitary treatments in the case of the presence of Trioza erytreae. The possibility of applying additional measures has also been left, by the competent authority of the autonomous communities, based on risk and taking into account their feasibility and effectiveness, such as destruction or severe pruning.

In the case of detecting the presence of HLB and transmitting organisms, the obligation to destroy all plants of sensitive species within the infested area is established.

In the same way, the obligation to prospect the buffer zone is incorporated in accordance with a solid sampling from the statistical point of view and based on risk.

The changes included in the requirements for the circulation in the European Union of the host plants of Trioza erytreae are technically justified and are consistent with the content of the provisions of the European regulations.