Regional Pest List Manual - Plant Pests - cahfsa

Regional Pest List Manual - Plant Pests

“Techniques and skills for developing a national pest list”

By Sumattie Gosine

i

Regional Pest List Manual - Plant Pests

“Techniques and skills for developing a national pest list”

By Sumattie Gosine

A collaboration between the

Organization of the Eastern Caribbean States, and

United States Department of Agriculture Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, Trinidad

August 2016

Regional Pest List Manual - Plant Pests and Diseases Sumattie Gosine

i

About the author

Ms. Sumattie Gosine has an MSc in Geoinformatics with Distinction and BSc in Agronomy

(Upper Second Class Honours). She has been working in Crop Protection for over twenty years

and was the core person in the Surveillance Unit with the responsibility for coordinating

surveillance activities on pests of quarantine importance, alien invasive species and pest of

important crops in Trinidad and Tobago and validating the country’s pest list. She has over

twelve years of experience in planning and executing surveys and drafting and producing public

awareness material for invasive alien species. She has also assisted in planning emergency action

plans for black Sigatoka disease, avian influenza, giant African snail, sweet potato weevil and

Huanglongbing disease of citrus. She is also the author of two manuals for crop protection

personnel: “An Introduction to GPS/GIS - Basic steps in using Google Earth™ to map pest

surveillance data” and “Surveillance Manual - Plant Pests: Surveillance Techniques and Skills

for Plant Health Technicians”.

Acknowledgements

The author is grateful for the assistance of Mr. Wayne De Chi and Ms Renita Sewsaran of the

USDA APHIS IS, Trinidad for their support in compiling this manual; Mr. Michael Rutherford,

Museum Curator of UWI St Augustine for identifying museums/specimen collection in the

Region and Mrs. Sarah Maharaj, Senior Librarian at Central Experiment Station Library,

Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries for proofing the manual.

About the manual

The material in this manual is an amalgamation of principles, facts, techniques, methodologies,

etc. that can be found elsewhere. Every effort was taken to refer the user to the original material

cited and other references for further reading, where applicable.

In using this manual, the reader is advised that the principles/methodologies/rules are stated

immediately under each main headings and direct quotes/facts/techniques/skills associated with

the principles/methodologies are illustrated in boxes.

This manual is not intended for sale but to be used solely for educational purposes to teach and

subsequently as reference material by government’s plant protection personnel in the conduct of

their duties to protect the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the wider

Caribbean biodiversity from alien invasive species of plant quarantine importance.


ii

Preface by George Alcee, Agricultural Specialist, OECS Commission

This manual represents the support of the OECS 10th EDF Economic Integration & Trade of the

OECS Region Project to the Region in meeting a country obligations to inform trading partners

and Members of the Economic Union of their pest status in accordance with the principles of

transparency enshrined in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Application of

Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS), and the International Plant Protection Convention

(IPPC). The development and maintenance of a national pest list database and making it readily

available to various stakeholders satisfies this requirement.

This manual/training in developing a country’s pest list is part of the thrust in supporting and

developing countries SPS capabilities and prompting transparency in trade. Under the umbrella

of the Caribbean Plant Health Directors (CPHD) Forum, the United States Department of

Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspections Services International Service (USDA APHIS

IS) Trinidad Office and the OECS, have systematically addressed regional gaps in SPS. This is

being achieved by building human/system capacity in plant quarantine principles and practices

and the identification of various insect orders, development and training personnel in the pest

prioritization model, training personnel and promoting the establishment of units for plant pest

risk analysis, development of a manual and training in plant pest surveillance, and provision of

GPS units, development of a manual and training in mapping of surveillance data.

This hand book is the first edition written for plant health specialists and those who are engaged

in or beginning to develop pest lists. It is designed to support pest surveillance and facilitate the

development of quarantine policy, support trade negotiations and improve national and regional

capacity to manage pests and assist the process of evaluating biological or other scientific and

economic evidence to determine whether a pest should be regulated, or the strength of

phytosanitary measures to be taken against it. The manual presents the starting points for

learning and the principles, facts, techniques, methodologies in literature research, verification

and documenting and storing pest records.

This manual has a user friendly design and provides links to bibliographic references of other

literature and works in the area of developing pest lists.

Finally we would like to recognize the support of United States Department of Agriculture

Animal and Plant Health Inspections Services International Service (USDA APHIS) Trinidad

Office and the Caribbean Plant Health Directors (CPHD) Forum in the development of this

manual.


iii

List of Abbreviations

AGRIS - International System for Agricultural Science and Technology

APHIS - Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

ASEAN - The Association of Southeast Asian Nations

CABI - CAB International

CARICOM - Caribbean Communities

CARIFORUM - Caribbean Forum

EPPO - European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization

EU - European Union

FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

GIS - Geographic Information System

GPS - Global Positioning System

IPPC - International Plant Protection Convention

ISPM - International Standards on Phytosanitary Measures

NPPO - National Plant Protection Organization

OECS - Organization of Eastern Caribbean States

PPQ - Plant Protection and Quarantine

RPPO - Regional Plant Protection Organization

SPS - Sanitary and Phytosanitary

T&T - Trinidad and Tobago

UK - United Kingdom

USA - United States of America

USDA - United States Department of Agriculture

UWI - University of the West Indies

WTO - World Trade Organization


iv

Table of Contents Page

About the author i

Acknowledgements i

About the manual i

Preface ii

List of Abbreviations iii

1 Why is it important to compile a national pest list? 1

2 Definitions associated with pest lists 4

3 Where and how can a country pest status be obtained? 7

4 How to compile the national pest list? 12

4.1 Reviewing literature 12

4.2 Reviewing specimen collections 15

4.3 Pest collection and diagnosis 24

5 How to verify a pest record? 27

6 How to document a pest list? 32

7 The way forward 37

List of Boxes

1 Rationale for compiling a national pest list 1

2 Benefits of compiling a national pest list 3

3 Further reading on the rights and obligations of WTO Members 3

4 Further reading on the pest status, how to determine pest status and meeting

countries import requirements with respect to pest status

6

5 Sending an enquiry through the WTO SPS Enquiry Point 7

6 Accessing a Member’s pest reports from IPPC 8

7 Pests reports at IPPC 11

8 Some sources of unpublished reports - agricultural organizations 13

9 Sources of published literature on plant pests 14

10 Links to UWI Collections 17

11 Using the online database of the Smithsonian Institute of National History 18

12 Using the online database of Louisiana State University Arthropod Museum 22

13 International plant pests diagnostic resources 26

14 A guide to evaluating the credibility of elements in a pest record 29

15 An incomplete but acceptable specimen record 30

16 An incomplete but unacceptable specimen record 31

17 An example of the layout of the national pest list 32

18 How to hyperlink the .pdf record to the citation in the country pest list table 33


1

1 Why is it important to compile a national pest list?

A country is mandated to know its pest status and compile a national pest list to fulfill its

obligation as a Member of the World Trade Organization (WTO); a requirement under the

Agreement on the application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement), which

is to:

prevent technical barriers to trade (Relevant International Plant Protection Convention

(IPPC) Articles: IV 2(b), IV 2(e) and VII 2(j) and ISPMs: No. 6 and No. 8), and

minimize interference with international trade in fulfillment of the:

transparency clause (Relevant IPPC Articles: VII 2(c), VII 2(i) and VII 2(j), VIII 1 and

VIII 1(a)) and

pest listing clause (Relevant IPPC Article VII 2 (i), VII 2(j) and ISPM No. 19).

The contents of the IPPC Articles (cited above) are reprinted from the IPPC in Box 1. (Available

at https://www.ippc.int/static/media/files/publications/en/2013/06/06/1329129099_ippc_2011-

12-01_reformatted.pdf).

Box 1 Rationale for compiling a national pest list

IPPC Article IV 2- The responsibilities of an official national plant protection organization shall

include the following:

(b) the surveillance of growing plants, including both areas under cultivation (inter alia fields,

plantations, nurseries, gardens, greenhouses and laboratories) and wild flora, and of plants and

plant products in storage or in transportation, particularly with the object of reporting the

occurrence, outbreak and spread of pests, and of controlling those pests, including the reporting

referred to under Article VIII paragraph 1(a);

(e) the protection of endangered areas and the designation, maintenance and surveillance of pest

free areas and areas of low pest prevalence;

IPPC Article VII 2 In order to minimize interference with international trade, each contracting

party, in exercising its authority under paragraph 1 of this Article, undertakes to act in

conformity with the following:

(c) Contracting parties shall, on request, make available to any contracting party the rationale

for phytosanitary requirements, restrictions and prohibitions.

(i) Contracting parties shall, to the best of their ability, establish and update lists of regulated

pests, using scientific names, and make such lists available to the Secretary, to regional plant

protection organizations of which they are members and, on request, to other contracting

parties.


2

(j) Contracting parties shall, to the best of their ability, conduct surveillance for pests and

develop and maintain adequate information on pest status in order to support categorization of

pests, and for the development of appropriate phytosanitary measures. This information shall be

made available to contracting parties, on request.

IPPC Article VIII 1- The contracting parties shall cooperate with one another to the fullest

practicable extent in achieving the aims of this Convention, and shall in particular:

(a) cooperate in the exchange of information on plant pests, particularly the reporting of the

occurrence, outbreak or spread of pests that may be of immediate or potential danger, in

accordance with such procedures as may be established by the Commission.

The IPPC is a multilateral treaty for international cooperation in plant protection. The

Convention makes provision for the application of measures by Members to protect their plant

resources from harmful pests (phytosanitary measures) which may be introduced through

international trade. The IPPC through its Secretariat, the Food and Agriculture Organization of

the United Nations (FAO) is responsible for the development of international standards on

phytosanitary measures (ISPM). There are thirty-seven adopted ISPMs to date (available at

https://www.ippc.int/en/core-activities/standards-setting/ispms/).

The WTO’s SPS Agreement sets out the basic rules to guide on how Members can apply food

safety and animal and plant health measures (sanitary and phytosanitary measures) when

engaging in international trade. Article 3(4) of the SPS Agreement names the following as the

reference organization with the responsibility for the development and periodic review of

international standards for:

food safety - the Codex Alimentarius Commission,

animal health - the International Office of Epizootics (renamed, World Organization for

Animal Health), and

plant health - the International Plant Protection Convention.

The WTO is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between

nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s

trading nations (163) and ratified in their parliaments. The goal is to help producers of goods and

services, exporters, and importers conduct their business (https://www.wto.org).

The WTO recognizes and promotes among its Members bilateral/multilateral agreements to

promote trade. Regardless of the conditions set out in individual agreements the WTO rules on

trade apply. Members’ plant protection personnel should familiarize themselves with the

https://www.wto.org/


3

conditions of agreements to which their country are signatories. Examples of multilateral

agreements within the region are: Caribbean Basin Initiative (United States of America, Central

American and Caribbean countries), Caribcan (Canada and Commonwealth Caribbean),

Economic Partnership Agreement (CARIFORUM and EU), Revised Treaty of Basseterre (OECS

Economic Union), and Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (CARICOM).

ISPM 8 underscores the importance of plant protection personnel knowing its country’s pest

status and compiling a national pest list, which is summarized in Box 2.

Box 2 Benefits of compiling a national pest list

Knowledge of the country’s pest status or national pest list puts a country in a stronger position

to mitigate risks and have a stronger bargaining advantage as it allows the plant protection

personnel to:

conduct pest risk analyses - quantifying the pest’s likelihood of entry, establishment and

spread, and the possible economic impact if it becomes established

determine import conditions/restrictions (guide on plant quarantine policy) – prevent the

entry, establishment or spread of the pest and thus protect the country’s biodiversity

negotiate stronger trade agreements - national pest list, displaying pest free

areas/production areas and areas of low pest prevalence allow other countries to assess risk

posed by traded commodities

access export markets for local products - national pest list, displaying pest free

areas/production areas and areas of low pest prevalence, and complying with import

conditions/restrictions provide export market opportunities

develop/prioritize the country’s detection surveillance programme

manage pest – prioritizing and planning national pest management programme.

Box 3 provides additional links to allow the user to understand their country’s rights and the

obligations with respect to trade in plants and plant products as WTO members.

Box 3 Further reading on the rights and obligations of WTO Members

1. WTO - https://www.wto.org

2. Agreement on Agriculture - https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/agric_e/agric_e.htm

3. SPS Agreement - https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/sps_e/sps_e.htm

4. IPPC - https://www.ippc.int/en/

5. ISPMs 1-37 - https://www.ippc.int/en/core-activities/standards-setting/ispms/


4

2 Definitions associated with pest lists

This section aims to sensitize plant protection personnel on the terms associated with pests, pest

status and pest lists. ISPM 5 has defined these terms so as to standardize the language used in

reporting pests, compiling pest lists, and to allow for better communication between the plant

protection personnel of trading partners. The terms used in determining the country pest status as

defined by ISMP 5 and ISPM 8 are:

Pest categorization - the process for determining whether a pest has or has not the

characteristics of a quarantine pest or those of a regulated non-quarantine pest.

Pest diagnosis - the process of detection and identification of a pest.

Pest - any species, strain or biotype of plant, animal or pathogenic agent injurious to

plants or plant products.

Contaminating or hitch-hiker pest - a pest that is carried by a commodity and, in the

case of plants and plant products, does not infest those plants or plant products.

Regulated pest - a quarantine pest or a regulated non-quarantine pest.

Quarantine pest - a pest of potential economic importance to the area endangered

thereby and not yet present there, or present but not widely distributed and being

officially controlled.

Non-quarantine pest - a pest that is not a quarantine pest for an area.

Regulated non-quarantine pest - a non-quarantine pest whose presence in plants for

planting affects the intended use of those plants with an economically unacceptable

impact and which is therefore regulated within the territory of the importing

contracting party.

Pest occurrence - the presence in an area of a pest officially recognized to be

indigenous or introduced and not officially reported to have been eradicated.

Pest outbreak - an isolated pest population, recently detected and expected to survive

for the immediate future.

Pest record - a document providing information concerning the presence or absence

of a specific pest at a particular location at a certain time, within an area (usually a

country) under described circumstances.

Pest status (in an area) - the presence or absence, at the present time, of a pest in an

area, including where appropriate its distribution, as officially determined using

expert judgment on the basis of current and historical pest records and other

information. It can be described as either being present, absent or transient as

follows:

o Present -


5

Present: in all parts of the area

Present: only in some areas

Present: except in specified pest free areas

Present: in all parts of the area where host crop(s) are grown

Present: only in some areas where host crop(s) are grown

Present: only in protected cultivation

Present: seasonally

Present: but managed

Present: subject to official control

Present: under eradication

Present: at low prevalence

o Absent:

Absent: no pest records

Absent: pest eradicated

Absent: pest no longer present

Absent: pest records invalid

Absent: pest records unreliable

Absent: intercepted only

o Transient:

Transient: non-actionable

Transient: actionable, under surveillance

Transient: actionable, under eradication

Country pest status or national pest list - pests that are currently known to exist in a

country that affect agriculture, forestry and the environment.

Host pest list - a list of pests that infest a plant species, globally or in an area.

Host range - species capable, under natural conditions, of sustaining a specific pest or

other organism.

Commodity pest list - a list of pests occurring in an area which may be associated

with a specific commodity.

Commodity - a type of plant, plant product, or other article being moved for trade or

other purpose.

Commodity class - a category of similar commodities that can be considered together

in phytosanitary regulations.


6

The European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO) has categorized their

regulated quarantine pest list into two lists which Members desirous of conducting trade with the

European Union (EU) should be cognizant to:

A1 pests – pest not present in the EPPO region.

A2 pests – pest present in the EPPO region but not widely distributed (i.e. absent from or

not widely distributed in endangered areas in certain countries, where they are therefore

subject to official control

Box 4 refers the user to some useful links to expand his/her knowledge with respect to pest status

and their requirements to facilitate trade.

Box 4 Further reading on the pest status, how to determine pest status and meeting

countries’ import requirements with respect to pest status

1. ISMP 5 –

https://www.ippc.int/largefiles/adopted_ISPMs_previousversions/en/ISPM_05_2007_En

_2007-07-26.pdf

2. ISPM 8 –

https://www.ippc.int/sites/default/files/documents//1323945129_ISPM_08_1998_En_201

1-11-29_Refor.pdf

3. ISPM 19 - ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/009/a0450e/a0450e01.pdf

4. EPPO A1 pest list - https://www.eppo.int/QUARANTINE/listA1.htm

5. EPPO A2 pest list - https://www.eppo.int/QUARANTINE/listA2.htm

6. EPPO Alert list https://www.eppo.int/QUARANTINE/Alert_List/alert_list.htm

7. USDA APHIS PPQ fruits and vegetables import requirements -

https://epermits.aphis.usda.gov/manual/index.cfm?CFID=3896410&CFTOKEN=341ffa7

fac198c49-8D175844-AB3D-B667-11B778126DC64155&ACTION=pubHome


7

3 Where and how can a country pest status be obtained?

A country pest status must be lodged with the IPPC as Member countries are required to notify

the IPPC of pest presence and pest status in their countries. A Member can obtain another

Member’s country pest status by:

Sending an official request to and through the WTO SPS Enquiry Point.

Perusing the IPPC’s National Reporting Obligations web page

https://www.ippc.int/en/countries/-/.

Box 5 gives a stepwise guide to using the WTO SPS Enquiry Point to send an enquiry requesting

another Member’s pest status.

Box 5 Sending an enquiry through the WTO SPS Enquiry Point

An enquiry to another Member country must be made through the official WTO SPS Enquiry

Point email and sent from the official Contact Point.

Contact Point log on to your WTO SPS Enquiry Point email

Compose your request

Send to Member’s WTO SPS Enquiry Point email.

A listing of Members’ WTO SPS Enquiry Point email addresses can be obtained by clicking on

the Enquiry Point List in the left hand menu on the WTO’s Information Management System

web page http://spsims.wto.org/web/pages/settings/country/Selection.aspx

Box 6 gives step by step instructions on how to use the IPPC National Reporting Obligations

webpage to access Member’s pest reports.


8

Box 6 Accessing a Member’s pest reports from IPPC

To access a country’s pest reports:

Go to https://www.ippc.int/en/

Select ‘Countries’ from the main menu

Click on the down arrow in the “Go to Country” drop down box on the right menu and

scroll down and select the country of interest.

The country’s page loads.

Click on any link in the ‘National Reporting Obligations’ (on the bottom left of the page),


9

for example ‘List of Regulated Pest’ or ‘Official Pest Reports’

– A link to the reports loads.


10

Click on the link to download the report.

OR Click on the link to download the file.


11

Box 7 gives the link to all pest reports from Members that have been reported to the IPPC.

Box 7 Pests reports at IPPC

Navigate to https://www.ippc.int/en/countries/all/pestreport/

Click on the country of interest on the left of the page.


12

4 How to compile the national pest list?

Compiling the national pest list from reports/records of the country pest status is time consuming

and requires dedicated plant protection personnel to be conscientious and punctilious in their

attention to fine details. This section identifies and summarizes the standards/guidelines provided

by the various ISPMs and thence how they can be upheld in compiling the national pest list.

ISPM 8 advises that:

The determination of pest status requires expert judgement concerning the

information available on the present-day occurrence of a pest in an area.

ISPM 8 identifies that pest status can be determined using information from:

individual pest records,

pest records from surveys, data on pest absence, findings of general surveillance, and

scientific publications and databases.

Sections 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 detail how a national pest list can be compiled by reviewing all records

of the country pest status, so it can conform to the requirements of ISPM 8, viz:

reviewing published and unpublished literature

reviewing specimen collections

pest collection and diagnosis.

4.1 Reviewing literature

The first step in compiling the national pest list is the conduct of a comprehensive review of

published and unpublished literature for pest reports occurring/recorded/observed on crops in the

country. Literature can be grouped into three categories based on its credibility (discussed in

Section 5) as:

Primary - letters/correspondence, diaries, memoirs, autobiographies, official or research

reports, patents and designs, and empirical research articles;

Secondary - academic journal articles (other than empirical research articles or reports),

conference proceedings, books (monographs or book chapters), documentaries; and

Tertiary - encyclopaedias, dictionaries, handbooks, atlases.

Sources of literature to review should include:

published peer reviewed (refereed) articles: books, journals, serials


13

unpublished reports, newsletters, journals, serials from: Ministry/Department of

Agriculture’s annual/quarterly/monthly reports, newsletters, bulletins, factsheets; trade

inspection and interception reports; laboratory diagnostic reports/records; natural sciences

organization/society/club’s reports, newsletters; and miscellaneous agriculture/natural

sciences publications lodged in libraries.

Box 8 lists some of the unpublished reports from some organizations/institutions in the Region

that would be useful to review in compiling the country pest list.

Box 8 Some sources of unpublished reports - agricultural organizations

National

Libraries

CES Library, Trinidad

Research

University

Cocoa Research Unit

Banana Board, Jamaica

Marketing

New Guyana Marketing

Corporation

Regulatory/Service

Authority

Rural Agricultural

Development Authority

Jamaica

Society/Club

Trinidad and Tobago

Field Naturalists’ Club

Jamaica Organic

Agriculture Movement

Agricultural Society

Diagnostic Laboratory

Plant Quarantine –

interception reports

(imports and exports).

Regional

Association of the

Caribbean States

Caribbean Agricultural

Research & Development

Institute

Caribbean Agribusiness

Association

Caribbean Food Crops

Society

Faculty of Agriculture

UWI, St Augustine

Inter-American Institute

for Cooperation on

Agriculture

Organization of Eastern

Caribbean States

Windward Islands Banana

Development Company

International Center for

Tropical Agriculture

International

CAB International

Canadian International

Development Agency

Caribbean Pest Diagnostic

Network

Global Forum on

Agricultural Research

Consultative Group on

International Agricultural

Research

French Agricultural

Research Centre for

International Development

United States Department

of Agriculture, Animal and

Plant Health Inspection

Service, Plant Protection

and Quarantine


14

Box 9 identifies some sources of published literature. A word of caution in reviewing online

literature; the link to the citation is insufficient as evidence of the publication (for the purpose of

establishing the validity of the pest record). Links to the published papers can become invalid

when the website to which the link refers to, is no longer maintained, or is removed. The

publication - original record - in which the status of the pest is reported as being present in the

country must be downloaded and saved/stored on your computer system or printed and filed for

ease of reference and retrieval if called upon to provide same.

Box 9 Sources of published literature on plant pests

Journals/serials Compendiums Data warehouse

Journal of the Agricultural

Society of T&T

Tropical Agriculture

Living World (Journal of the

Field Naturalist Club)

AGRIS

CABI Compendium

American Phytopathological

Society

Biodiversity Heritage Library

Elsevier (Science Direct)

ResearchGate

Springer

Wiley’s Online Library

Compendiums are useful for identifying and cross-referencing the papers in which the pest is

reported as being present in the country. Compendiums are considered as secondary literature.

Citation to a compendium report is insufficient as evidence of the publication. In fulfilling the

transparency clause, the original record in which the status of the pest is reported as being

present/absent/transient in the country must be provided as evidence of the pest status. Section 5,

pest record verification explains the importance of providing the original record.

In reviewing printed literature, such as books, journals, serials, etc. the ‘Table of Contents’ and

the ‘Index’ are the tools utilized to filter the publication to identify items of relevance to the

search. In reviewing a scientific paper, the ‘Keywords’ is the primary tool utilized to filter the

publication to the pest of interest. ‘Keywords’ is usually found at the bottom of the ‘Abstract’.

Keywords may at times be too specific and thus one can discard the publication prematurely;

therefore, it is still good practice to quickly scan the paper for specific words of interest (or

search terms).

The ‘Reference’ or ‘Bibliography’ is another tool that can be used to access similar publications

or cross-reference the pest record. It aids in providing supporting evidence of the pest status. It


15

assists in separating reliable, peer-reviewed records from the unreliable or out-of-date records. It

thus increases the efficacy of conducting the literature review.

In reviewing electronic literature, in the early days of digitization of printed publications, the

‘keywords’ were the search terms or search parameters used to filter publications and identify

items of relevance. Some compendiums’ search engines are still based on the use of ‘keywords’.

Indexing of electronic publications practised today, allow for the document to be scanned for any

occurrence of the search terms in the document. Search engines, however, are not intelligent;

they match words exactly as you input them without considering their meaning. Identifying

relevant search terms therefore is critical to the success of performing an electronic search. An

excellent guide to develop your search terms skills can be found in Section 2 - ‘Working with

your title: identify search terms’ and Section 4 - ‘Search using search techniques’ in the

publication “Doing a literature search: a step by step guide” by Faculty Librarians of The

Sheppard-Worlock Library, Liverpool Hope University, UK (Available at

https://www.hope.ac.uk/media/liverpoolhope/contentassets/documents/library/help/media,1256,e

n.pdf). Some software will assist to identify similar search terms/phrases, for example, Google

Adword Keyword Research Tool (available at https://adwords.google.com/KeywordPlanner).

An excellent tool that allows for scanning an electronic document (reading a paper) for a search

term is holding down the ‘Control’ and ‘f’ keys on the keyboard simultaneously. This is a short

cut to open the ‘Search’ dialog box. The search term can then be typed into the box and the

‘Enter’ key begins the search. All occurrences of the search term in the document become

highlighted. The ‘Enter’ key or the next tab will navigate to the next occurrence of the search

term.

Whether reviewing printed or electronic publications, the plant protection personnel is cautioned

not to include an ‘Abstract’ alone in the review. The ‘Abstract’ is a brief summary of the

publication. It can be used to filter and narrow the search to specifics but it cannot be used as

evidence of the pest status. The full text article must be consulted for details of the pest record

necessary to make a determination of the pest record validity, as discussed in Section 5.

4.2 Reviewing specimen collections

Specimen collections are excellent sources of information to determine the country pest status

when compiling the national pest list. They are classified as primary literature, only if they meet

the identification and labelling standards defined in ISPM 8. Specimen’s label contain not only


16

the identity of the pest but salient information that are required to validate the pest status: date of

collection, location found, by whom collected, etc. Validation of a pest record is discussed in

Section 5.

Within a country, many sources of specimen collections may be found, for example:

Generalist - national museum,

Plants - herbarium (weeds and fungi), mycology/microorganism museum,

Animals - zoology museum (molluscs and insects), arthropod museum, and

Insects - entomological museum.

Collections may be also be categorized into the following:

public,

institutional or

personal.

Identifying heritage or tourism sites; natural sciences institutions, universities, diagnostic

laboratories, non-governmental organizations, societies or clubs; and subject matter specialist,

hobbyists or amateurs (and their descendants) will aid in locating specimen collections within a

country.

Specimens of a country’s flora/fauna inclusive of its pests may also be found outside of its

borders. Repository of specimens for each country in the wider Caribbean may be found lodged

at major universities or natural museums in its former European ruler. Additionally, some natural

sciences institutions, universities, non-governmental organizations, societies or clubs are

repositories of international specimens, for example:

Royal Botanic Gardens, UK is a global resource for plant and fungal knowledge.

University of Redding, UK is a repository for international flora knowledge.

The Smithsonian Institute, USA is a generalist museum with numerous international

catalogues for plant pests.

Within the region, Mike Rutherford, has identified specimen collections in Chapter 4: “The

Natural History Collections of the University of the West Indies (UWI)” in the book Planation to

Nation: Caribbean Museums and National Identity (Editors; Alissandra Cummins, Kevin Farmer

and Roslyn Russell; a Common Ground Publication). Box 10 provides some of these links

(available at http://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/MuseumLinks.asp).


17

Box 10 Links to UWI Collections

Specimen collections or databases on specimens can be accessed through an enquiry or may be

freely available online. There is an international thrust to photograph specimens, catalogue,

digitize and input on databases. Some of these databases are searchable online for free or may

require registration. Registration is increasingly free.

A world listing of specimen collection is large and growing. A few reference lists available

online, that will be helpful in providing records of pest status are:

Herbaria - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_herbaria,

Mycological collections - http://mycology.cornell.edu/fcollect.html#WDCM,

Entomological collections - http://www.ent.iastate.edu/list/directory/155/vid/4,

Arthropod collections - http://symbiota4.acis.ufl.edu/scan/portal/collections/,

Nematodes -

http://www.apsnet.org/edcenter/intropp/pathogengroups/pages/intronematodes.aspx,

General - http://www1.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/b-online/ppigb/database.htm.


18

Boxes 11 and 12 guide the user to search an online specimen database to identify country pest

records.

Box 11 Using the online database of the Smithsonian Institute of Natural History

Navigate to http://naturalhistory.si.edu/

Click on the ‘Research & Collection’ tab on the main menu bar.

Click on the link ‘Entomology’ in the right menu.

Clink on the link ‘Specimen Database’ on the left menu.


19

The database search page loads.

Click ‘General Search’ from the search main menu.


20

Click on the down arrow in the ‘Country’ box and scroll to the desired country.

Click ‘Search’ at the bottom of the dialog box.

Records of insect specimens collected from the country housed at the Institute loads.

Form our search for ‘Trinidad’

o There are 1171 records found;

o 10 records are displayed on a page; and

o there are 118 pages.

Multiple search terms can be inputted to filter the search and retrieve records of

relevance.

Click on the icon on the right to expand the record and see the details.


21

The details of the record loads.

The link http://naturalhistory.si.edu/rc/db/databases.html gives a list of other databases housed at

the Smithsonian Institute of Natural History.


22

Box 12 Using the online database of Louisiana State University Arthropod Museum

Navigate to http://www.lsuinsects.org/

Click on the link ‘Click here for LSAM database web portal access’ at the bottom of the

page.

Click ‘Search Collection’ tab on the main menu bar.

.


23

The database search parameters loads.

Click on the ‘Country’ drop down arrow and scroll to the desired country.

A listing of all specimens collected from the selected country (Republic of Trinidad and

Tobago) appears.

Click on the view ‘Details’ icon on the right of the page for more information.

The details of the record loads.


24

4.3 Pest collection and diagnosis

In the absence of archival knowledge, specimens of pest occurrences are collected and diagnosed

to compile the country pest list. This is considered as primary literature. Plant protection

personnel should be adept in the conduct of detection and delimiting surveys for plant pests, as

these provide the most reliable pest record for determining the country pest status. The OECS

publication “Surveillance Manual - Plant Pests: Surveillance Techniques and Skills for Plant

Health Technicians” by the author, provides guidance on how to survey crops for plant pests and

contains instructions that develop the plant protection personnel skills and capabilities in


25

devising, planning and executing surveys; collecting and transporting specimens; and

conducting preliminary diagnoses.

Preliminary diagnosis must be confirmed by an independent accredited laboratory. Items 1 to 2.5

of ISPM 27 stipulate the requirement of the diagnostic protocol a laboratory must adhere in

arriving at the pest identity. The aim of ISPM 27 is to “provide at least the minimum

requirements for reliable diagnosis of regulated pests” and “proper diagnostic procedures for

determination of pest status and pest reporting” in harmonizing diagnostic protocols which aims

to “support efficient phytosanitary measures in a wide range of circumstances and to enhance

the mutual recognition of diagnostic results by NPPOs”. The protocols were also expected to

“aid the development of expertise and technical cooperation, and they may also be relevant to

the accreditation and/or approval of laboratories.”

ISPM 27 states that “Diagnostic protocols are intended to be used by laboratories performing

pest diagnosis. Such laboratories may be established under or may be authorized by the NPPO

to perform these activities in such manner that the results of the pest diagnosis may be

considered as part of a phytosanitary measure of the NPPO.”

ISPM 27 recognizes that: “proper pest detection and pest identification are crucial for the

appropriate application of phytosanitary measures (see for example ISPM No. 4: Requirements

for the establishment of pest free areas; ISPM No. 6: Guidelines for surveillance; ISPM No. 7:

Export certification system; ISPM No. 9: Guidelines for pest eradication programmes; and

ISPM No 20: Guidelines for a phytosanitary import regulatory system). In particular,

contracting parties need proper diagnostic procedures for determination of pest status and pest

reporting (ISPM No. 8: Determination of pest status in an area; ISPM No. 17: Pest reporting),

and the diagnosis of pests in imported consignments (ISPM No. 13: Guidelines for the

notification of non-compliance and emergency action).”

Box 13 identifies some international plant pests diagnostic laboratories for confirming pest

identity.


26

Box 13 International plant pests diagnostic resources

Digital images plant pest and diseases - Caribbean Pest Diagnostic Network through the

University of Florida.

Plant diseases - University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Plant

Diagnostic Center, 2570 Hull Rd, Bldg 1291, Gainesville Florida, 32611-0830

http://plantpath.ifas.ufl.edu/extension/plant-diagnostic-center/clinic-pricing/

Fungal and bacterial pathogens, soil and environmental microorganism, fungal and

bacterial biocontrol agents – Microbial Identification Service, CABI, Bakeham Lane,

Egham, Surrey, TW20 9TY, UK. http://www.cabi.org/services/microbial-

services/microbial-identification/

All plant pest and diseases, soil organisms – Plant Clinic, Fera Science Ltd. (Fera),

National Agri-Food Innovation Campus, San Hutton, York, Yo41 1LZ, United Kingdom.

http://fera.co.uk/agriculture-horticulture/plant-clinic/sample-submission.cfm#pricing


27

5 How to verify a pest record?

ISPM 8 states that NPPOs have the responsibility to provide accurate information on pest records

upon request. Accurate pest reports are an essential part of the international cooperation to

facilitate trade. Failure to discover and report pests, or inaccurate, incomplete, untimely, or

misinterpreted reports can lead to the establishment of unjustified trade barriers, or to the

introduction and/or spread of pests. The pest record must therefore be current, accurate and

credible.

ISPM 8 defines the term ‘pest record’ as “the essential components of the information used to

establish the status of a pest in an area.” ISPM 5 defines a pest record as “a document providing

information concerning the presence or absence of a specific pest at a particular location at a

certain time, within an area (usually a country) under described circumstances.”

ISPM 6 describes the elements of information that may be included in a pest record as:

current scientific name of the organism including, as appropriate, subspecific terms (strain,

biotype etc.)

life stage or state

taxonomic group

identification method

year, and month if known, recorded; normally the day will only be required for specific

circumstances (e.g. the first detection of a particular pest, pest monitoring)

locality, e.g. location codes, addresses, geographical coordinates; important conditions

such as if under protected cultivation (e.g. greenhouses) should be indicated

scientific name of host, as appropriate

host damage, or circumstances of collection (e.g. trap or soil sample), as appropriate

prevalence, indication of the level of pest presence or pest numbers

bibliographical references, if any.

ISPM 17 states that for the purpose of reporting a pest, the pest report should clearly indicate:

the identity of the pest with scientific name (where possible, to the species level, and below

species level, if known and relevant)

the date of the report - host(s) or articles concerned (as appropriate)

the status of the pest under ISPM No. 8

geographical distribution of the pest (including a map, if appropriate)

the nature of the immediate or potential danger, or other reason for reporting.


28

ISPM 8 states that “the reliability of pest records is based on consideration of the data in regard

to the collector/identifier, the means of technical identification, the location and date of the

record, and the recording/publication of the record.”

In fulfillment of Member’s responsibility under ISPM 8 to provide accurate information, plant

protection personnel must assure themselves that the pest record must answer the 4Ws and H

questions when reviewing archival knowledge (both literature and specimen):

What is the pest?

The pest scientific name must be contained in the record as occurring on the host. If the

report contains only the common names of the pest - the report is invalid. If the pest is

recorded but a host is not identified, the record is also invalid.

Where was the pest found?

It must be found in a specific location within the country. The country must be identified

by its name. Broad terms referring to location, for example, the Americas, Central

America, Caribbean, Lesser Antilles, British West Indies, Dutch Antilles, widespread,

worldwide, new world, tropics, etc. are unacceptable; discard the report as invalid.

When was the pest found?

The date of the pest discovery must be documented. This allows for trace back/forward and

cross referencing to validate the report. If only one report of the pest can be found, a

detection survey should be conducted to gather updated data on the pest occurrence and

thus status. If the record is outdated, and no recent records can be found to substantiate the

pest status - a detection survey should be performed to establish the current status of the

pest.

Who was the collector/identifier? How was the pest identified?

How the pest was identified and who identified the pest inform on the credibility of the

record. The means of identifying the pest must be in alignment with the guidelines set out

in ISPM 27. The identifier of the pest must be qualified and competent in the relevant field

of study. A hobbyist may be enthusiastic and acquired vast field experience, but for the

purpose of maintaining accuracy in pest reporting, the hobbyist report must be validated by

a competent and certified laboratory confirmation.

Box 14 outlines the degree of credibility of the information for various elements of a pest record.

Each element in the table is independently assessed (green is most credible and red is least).


29

Box 14 A guide to evaluating the credibility of elements in a pest record (amended ISPM 8)

Literature Record Location Credibility Date/

method

ID Collector/

identifier

primary NPPO record,

RPPO publication

(refereed)

GPS

coordinates

Delimiting /

detection

surveys

Discriminating

biochemical or

molecular diagnosis

Taxonomist

secondary Scientific / technical

journal (refereed),

Laboratory report

(accredited)

Town Other

surveys

Specimen or culture

maintained in official

collection, taxonomic

description by

specialist

Specialist,

diagnostician

tertiary Official historical

record

County Diagnostics

With date

Specimen in general

collection

Scientist

Scientific / technical

journal (non-

refereed)

Country Scientist

observation

no date

Description and photo Technician

Specialist amateur

publication

Region Interception

no date

Visual description Expert

amateur

Unpublished

scientific / technical

document,

interception report

Continent Precise

location

No date

not known Non-specialist

Non-technical:

periodical, journal,

newspaper

widespread not known

Personal

communication

worldwide

Other elements in the pest record such as the the status of the pest (as described under ISPM 8)

also determine whether the report should be accepted as valid or needs to be validated through

the conduct of a detection or delimiting survey. Pests that should be validated through the

conduct of a survey are those described as:

Present - only in some areas

Present - seasonally

Present - subject to official control

Present - at low prevalence

Absent: intercepted only

Transient: actionable, under surveillance

Present - except in specified pest free areas

Present - but managed

Present - under eradication

Absent: no pest records

Transient: non-actionable

Transient: actionable, under eradication

The user is cautioned whilst building the pest list, that reviewing reports are a one-way

communication flow. The record cannot be questioned/re-examined to provide essential elements

+

-


30

that are required to determine the validity of the record. Such validation need to be provided by

other records or the conduct of surveys. Specimen records are a two communication flow as the

specimen can be re-examined for correctness of taxonomic identity. However, if essential

elements of the record are omitted in the label – (location, collector/identifier and date of

collection) that communication is a one-way flow. Conduct of surveys to validate such is critical

to providing accurate and current information especially if the pest record is not current

(outdated).

Boxes 15 and 16 illustrate some short comings of specimen collections (developed prior to ISPM

8) and how these can be addressed.

Box 15 An incomplete but acceptable specimen record

The record is incomplete as it has not stated the host on which it was recorded.

Other records of the pest occurrence on the host need to be identified to confirm the host.

An enquiry to Louisiana State Arthropod Museum or the work of the collector, Stewart

Peck (Entomologist, Taxonomist and currently Professor Emeritus can be investigated to

locate the missing information.


31

Box 16 An incomplete but unacceptable specimen record

The record is incomplete as it has not stated the host on which it was recorded.

More noteworthy, neither the collector nor the date of collection is identified.

An enquiry to Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History to extract the missing information

is required.

Other records of the host on which it is found are required before the record can be

accepted.


32

6 How to document a pest list?

Section 5 identified the sections in ISMPs 6, 8 and 17 that guide to what are the essentials of

what should be recorded for a pest; what constitutes a pest record and what are the minimum

requirements of a pest report. In accordance with ISPM 17 the minimum pest report elements

that should be extracted and tabled to compile the country or national pest list are:

Pest - scientific name, common name, category, prevalence

Host - scientific name, common name, parts of the plant affected

Locality - area where the pest is present/absent

Reference - citation for where the pest record can be found.

A possible simple and efficient format to store the required information of the pest list is an

Excel® worksheet (a table in Microsoft Word® would also suffice) with the headings displayed in

Box 17.

Box 17. An example of the layout of the national pest list

Host Pest

category

Scientific

Name of Pest

Common

Name of

Pest

Plant Parts

Affected

Location

Date

Prevalence

Reference

Scientific name Bacteria

Genus species

subsp./strain

(Common

name) Fungi

Insect

Mollusc

Nematode

Virus

Host - Placing the host first, automatically group the country pest list by host, that is, pests

that affect a particular host. The scientific name (genus and species) of the host appears

first and the common name is placed in brackets in the same column.

The pests recorded as occurring on the host in the country is the then listed by category

(bacteria, fungi, insect, mollusk, nematode, virus, etc.). All bacterial pests occurring on the

particular host in the country are listed, then all fungal pests, etc.

The pest identity is then given by scientific name (genus and species; sub-species and

strain are listed where applicable).

The most popular common names are then listed.

The plant parts affected by the particular pest are then listed.

The locality where the pest is found is then stated. This can be specific – occurring in a

particular location, confined to a specific farm, town, county, or can be widespread


33

(throughout the country). Pest free areas can also be stated in this column. Seasonality of

the pest occurrence can also be identified under this column. Prevalence of the pest can

also be stated in this column.

Reference - refers to the citation of the document in which the pest was reported. It is

recommended to follow the Chicago Manual of Style as it is commonly used by

universities and publications. A link to the Citation Quick Guide is

http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html.

The user is again cautioned to download all electronic references, print, collate, folio and

physically store in manila folders or bind together by host for back-up purposes. Electronic

storage is advisable for ease of retrieval and referencing. All valid reports should be scanned and

saved as .pdf files in a folder. Folders can be categorized as desired, for example by host. Each

record should be given a file name that is relevant to the content, for example

mango_anthracnose.

Retrieving a record cited under ‘Reference’ in the national pest list table can be achieved very

easily by hyperlinking the citation to the saved record. Box 18 gives a step by step guide to

hyperlink the references.

Box 18 How to hyperlink the .pdf record to the citation in the country pest list table

1. Scan pest record and save as a .pdf file. Give it an appropriate name, reflective of its

contents, for example, banana_Black-Sigatoka-disease.

2. Save the .pdf file (banana_Black-Sigatoka-disease.pdf) on your computer in a folder.

Name the folder appropriately, for example, Banana-pest.

3. Compile the national pest list in an Excel® worksheet as illustrated in Box 16.

Host Pest

category

Scientific Name

of Pest

Common Name

of Pest

Plant Parts

Affected

Location

Date

Prevalence

Reference

Musa

(banana)

Fungus Mycosphaerella

fijiensis

Black Sigatoka

disease

Leaf Coromandel,

Trinidad.

October 2003.

Widespread

(2010).

Fortune, M. P.

et al. 2004.

MALMR Crop

Protection 2010

Annual Report

4. Select the citation (Fortune, M. P. et al. 2004.) under the reference column.

5. Select ‘Insert’ from the main menu bar and ‘Hyperlink’ .


34

6. The Hyperlink dialog box opens.

7. From the link to menu: Select ‘Existing File or Web Page’

8. Navigate to the folder the reference is saved (C:\Users\User\Desktop\Banana-pest)

9. Select the reference (Fortune_2003_Banana_Black-Sigatoka-disease.pdf)

10. Click ‘OK’ on the bottom right of the dialog box.

11. The link is established. The reference is in blue and underlined indicating the hyperlink.


35

12. Simultaneously holding the ‘Control’ key and clicking on the link will take you to the

.pdf file.

The same steps are used if the national pest list table was done in Microsoft Word®. Excel® has

the advantages of allowing the user to sort and filter the list as desired. The plant protection

personnel can hyperlink many items in the same record, for example, an image of the pest to the

pest scientific name, description/image of the symptoms to the plant part affected, distribution

map of the occurrence to the location, etc.

A final word of caution; if the folder in which the references/images are stored is moved the

hyperlink will be broken. It is best to store the reference folders and the national pest list file in a

permanent location, such as the C drive or an external drive to maintain the hyperlinks and thus

ease of record retrieval.

The user is advised that there are several databases for managing pest lists built on different

software; each with its advantages and disadvantages, including price and user-friendliness. It

was not the aim of this section to identify these but to illustrate a simple system with existing


36

tools which requires minimum skills that will enable plant protection personnel to begin

digitization of its records to facilitate easy and quick access of information.


37

7 The way forward

Recommendations from the workshop “Standards and Priorities for Developing Pest Lists in

Countries of South East Asia” held in Kuala Lumpur, December 2003 by The Association of

Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) chart a way forward for the OECS and the wider Caribbean

Region in the development of their pest lists. The limitations identified by ASEAN are similar to

that experienced in the wider Caribbean, viz:

Plant protection agencies have limited knowledge/access to information on their plant pest

status.

Small numbers of specimen-based records exist on plant diseases.

Limited current published work on plant pest on individual countries can be found.

Arthropod collections are more easily available, but may be outdated and thus require up-

dating (in their nomenclature and ISPM 8’s labelling requirements).

Specimen archival records may not meet ISPM 8’s standard for a pest record.

Limited capacity exist to:

o diagnose pests of agriculture (human, institutional and financial),

o preserve specimens and maintain collections, and

o digitize and manage data held on these collections.

Recommendations on the way forward, adapted from the workshop, are: (full text is available at

http://www.aseanet.org/events/pest_list_wshop/Presentations/2.doc).

1. Development of pest lists can be fast-tracked by conducting detection surveys:

a. on export crops/commodities,

b. in production areas, and

c. on specific hosts/host lists for pests of quarantine importance.

2. Generalized surveys, in the long term, be expanded to other production areas (where hosts

exists) that may serve as reservoirs of infestations.

3. Increase technical cooperation/communication between nations of the wider Caribbean and

their more developed trading partners as it relates to existing survey protocols, specimen

collections and printed pest records so as to minimize a country’s efforts required to

develop its pest list.

4. Funding and technical cooperation be sourced/entered into to assist nations of the OECS

and the wider Caribbean in the:

a. development/updating/expansion of specimen collections, and

b. development of digitized record keeping.

Regional Pest List Manual - Plant Pests - cahfsa

Documents