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My recent visit to DG Santé provided information on both the control of chemicals and also on plant health. While we in Ireland tend to associate plant health with the use of fungicides and herbicides to protect plants and crops, in EU terms it is also about keeping out pests and diseases that do not currently exist within the EU. It is also about containing and eradicating an incident should an alien pest occur.
In the EU, DG Santé covers two major areas – public health and food safety. In the EU, the health sector represents 8% of the workforce, 10% of GDP and 15% of public expenditure. And it is expected that the cost of healthcare will double by 2050.
On the food safety side, the EU agro-food industry is its second-biggest economic sector. It is valued at €750bn/year and has 48 million employees. The food industry is Europe’s largest manufacturing sector valued at €1.2 trillion, with 25 million employees. Food is big business and therefore food safety is important for very many reasons, with more than 1,700 pieces of legislation pertaining to it.
Common plant health policy
Food safety encompasses many different areas, including food labelling, food additives, biotech and GMOs, food fraud, innovation and food waste, animal health and welfare, plant health and pesticides and biocides.
Staying with the plant health side, there has been a common plant health policy in place in the EU since 1977 and this currently operates under Council Directive 2000/29/EC. This is mainly active against new harmful organisms that affect plants. Currently, there are 250 pests regulated which are either:
The law is heavily focused on crisis preparedness should any of these harmful organisms enter EU territory. And the list of harmful organisms is based on pest risk analysis as developed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organisation (EPPO) and national scientific institutes.
The EU works by monitoring risk to trade via imports using phytosanitary certificates to certify the absence of harmful organisms and systematic inspection of imports. It also works with supply countries to help them meet the standards necessary for importation into the EU. This activity would appear to be paying off, as the number of incidences of infested consignments appears to be decreasing over time.
Sometimes listed organisms do get through and we were told that there are 200 to 250 notifications of pest outbreaks per year in the EU.
While the main objective is to prevent importation, eradication becomes the next requirement if a notification occurs. The EU is focusing heavily on early notification of any such problem, as this helps to contain the spread.
The overall objective is to prevent the establishment of new harmful organisms in the EU that could lead to a plant health crisis. And this could be an issue in any type of plant, with tree species being a particular concern.
But if an infestation does occur, the next objective is to maximise successful eradication of such organisms to safeguard Europe’s agriculture, horticulture, forestry and environment.
In this regard, we were told that new plant health legislation can be expected this year. This is to be even more proactive against new devastating pests in terms of import rules, surveillance, eradication, financing, etc.
If this is agreed this year, it is expected to come into force in 2019. It may also result in plant species being put on to the unwanted list.
Examples of listed pests
Plant health pests can be bacteria, fungi, insects, nematodes, etc, so the challenge is significant. Pests on the banned list are ones which are considered to pose a threat within the EU which are not already present.
One such example is the anoplophora beetle, of which there are two types. These have no natural predators in Europe, so they pose a particular threat to many tree species where the larvae feed within the plant. Adult beetles lay their eggs inside the bark, so imported material (and timber packaging) must be checked for holes in the bark.
There have already been 30 outbreaks of these pests in the EU in eight member states. Seven have already been eradicated, 22 are under eradication, but one is under containment because it got quite bad before it was notified. This means cutting down susceptible species across regions where infestation has taken place.
Disease concerns
While the anoplophora is in, but hopefully being turfed out, Xylella fastidiosa has also sneaked into southern Europe, but citrus black spot (Phyllosticta citricarpa) has not yet been notified.
Xylella fastidiosa is a bacterial disease which can attack trees such as olives, citrus, peach, vines and other shrubs. The bacteria clog up the vascular system in the tree and results in significant problems which look like water stress. This has been a very serious problem in other parts of the world, such as California.
This bacteria needs an insect vector (Philaenus spumarius) to move it about. Control is targeted through the removal of vegetation, which is essential for the multiplication of the insect. But if infection occurs, it can kill a plantation in under three years. However, it looks like there is some level of genetic resistance or tolerance in olive varieties.
The Xylella organism has already been found in Italy (Apulia) and France (Corsica, PACA). The French incidents are under eradication. The Italian problem is under containment because it moved too far before eradication measures could be considered. Two different sub-species are involved, with mainly olives and stone fruits affected in Italy and ornamental shrubs in France.
Citrus black spot describes another disease and its symptoms. Caused by Phyllosticta citricarpa, this fungal disease would obviously cause problems for citrus fruit, but thankfully it is not in Europe.
However, it does exist in many other regions of the world and therefore it could spread here and result in both yield and quality losses. It affects both the fruit and the leaves and its presence here could affect citrus exports from the EU.
Because of the risk, there are now strengthened requirements for imports into the EU, as well as stringent audits in countries from which citrus products are being imported.
Interesting visits
During the trip to Brussels, we were taken on some very interesting trips to businesses north of the city. These businesses depend on various aspects of the plant health sector in the EU.
One related to the importance of integrated pest management (IPM) in the production of protected crops, while two others depended on the assurances provided by the plant passport system, both for the import and export of plants and shrubs.
Tomatoes via IPM
Our first visit was to a tomato producer, Bedrijf Den Boschkant in Vremde, close to Antwerp. This was a very impressive business where a highly enthusiastic lady called Maria explained much of how the business operated. The company is 10 years old in its current state and is now a specialist tomato producer.
IPM is very much at the heart of what is being practised in this business. This is a three-pronged approach based on:
The whole management of the 9ha under glass is based around IPM. Climate control is used to help prevent disease and pest outbreaks and this incorporates aspects such as light intensity, fertilisation, humidity control, variety selection, etc. Bumblebees are used to help pollination and so the use of insecticides must be avoided.
Light is carefully controlled at all times, with artificial light provided in winter, and the best use made of natural light in summer. This involves the use of screens to help control temperature in both summer (shade) and winter (increase artificial light use efficiency), with even the removal of the artificial lights to prevent shading.
Rockwool is used as the growing medium and nutrients are provided through drip irrigation. Two rainfall reservoirs are used to collect water and gas is used as the energy source to provide heat.
It was interesting to hear Maria say that temperature is tightly controlled, with 2°C being the maximum allowable hourly increase following lower nightly temperatures.
It has been a number of years since I was in a tomato house, but the general climate inside was more pleasant than it was outside on the same warm day. I was very impressed with the level of climate control.
Everything starts with the genetic material used and I was surprised to learn that they are using grafted stock, ie one variety for the rootstock and another for the fruiting vines. The rootstock is selected for its hardiness and root disease resistance, while the fruiting part is chosen for the improved characteristics of its fruit. The objective of the grafted plant is to combine the best two varieties to give product yield and quality in combination with plant hardiness.
There were many different types of tomato grown in the same house, from vine tomatoes to peach-shaped tomatoes to new non-drip varieties for use in sandwiches and pizzas.
A portion of the area under glass is now fitted with LED lighting (red and blue) and these are used to improve the flavour in the fruit rather than yield. Maria continued to emphasise the importance of quality and flavour for management.
Average yield is somewhere between 40 and 50kg/m2 of glasshouse from the range of varieties and types grown. But on the top side, Maria said that the highest-yielding varieties could be 60+kg and even up to 70kg/m2.
Pruning is an important part of management, but the discarded tissue is left on the ground beneath the suspended crop. This is because it will contain an amount of the IPM bio-materials.
Different potential ailments are controlled by different biocontrol systems and agents and the company uses external pest control companies to help monitor pest numbers and provide guidance on treatments.
Importing from central America
A second visit was to a company called Fikoplant, near Lier, which was involved in the production, importation and selling of decorative plants.
Manager Koen Peeters said the company mainly specialises in three species – standard Ficus plants with differently shaped stems, Chamaedorea in various sizes and Buxus sempervirens intended for cone and ball-shaping of plants (topiary). A few other plants are also grown.
The plants are propagated in 3ha of glass nursery, plus 32ha of outdoor propagation. Nematodes are a serious issue and land must be frequently rotated to avoid problems. This involves a level of land swopping with neighbours at times.
This business imports seedlings from Mexico and plants from Costa Rica. This means that many checks are needed, both by the company and by official inspectors, right up to quarantine at the point where they are taken out of the shipping container. It is cheaper and better to get plants germinated in central America and so that is what is done.
When plants come into the nursery they are first placed in quarantine for two weeks. They are transported in containers using a stacking system. They are watered in advance of containerisation and can travel safely in the absence of light for two weeks, with humidity control and 15°C. Once they get the all-clear from inspectors, they are repotted and grown on for 30 to 40 weeks maximum before resale.
Given the level of controls and scrutiny in place, the company is allowed to authorise plant passports, but it was stated that not all plant species need a passport.
Koen explained some of the intricacies of international trade in plants and was concerned about potential consequences of successful TTIP negotiations.
Exporting around the world
Arbor is a fifth-generation nursery company with over 500ha in both Belgium and France. This is a hell of an operation, with very specialised production and management systems for both potted and mature tree production and supply.
It is the largest nursery in Belgium, with 35ha devoted to container nursery and 260ha involved in in-ground nursery for larger plants. Its container nursery was very impressive in terms of its use of space, light and other resources.
Owner Klaus Van Dyck said that one of the biggest-selling lines currently is a hybrid elm produced by an American company, which is resistant to Dutch Elm disease.
Arbor is said to be synonymous with top quality and service throughout Europe. The company focuses on professional clients in order to help guarantee optimal support for its products – 90% of which are intended for export. The company does not do retail business and its customers tend to be architects, landscape designers, garden planners, property developers and local authorities.
The company specialises in large trees and Klaus said that the biggest tree they sold for replanting was 20m in height and some 28t in weight, including its root-ball.
The large trees are taken up and replanted every five years and this helps keep an active root system for transplanting.
Trees intended for sale are taken up and grown on the surface for a number of months, with individualised irrigation and nutrition prior to transport. But it looked like the majority of trees are moved when between 2m and 10m in height.
Transport is a very important element of the business, as it can affecttheir quality for transplanting. Most plants are moved in containers and it is essential that the foliage be dry before loading.
To this end, the company has a massive dry shed where air circulates to dry the foliage prior to loading. Very large trees that will not fit into containers will be moved by truck or low-loader systems.
Most plants are individually watered and fed, with the excess liquid running off to a central collection point. Klaus told me that there is relatively little nutrient loss from the irrigation system, as it is necessary to add nutrients to help keep the bio-filter, which is used to purify the water, functioning to its optimum.
This is a fascinating operation and Klaus is a great guy. Anyone in the business would do worse than to take the opportunity to visit this operation in Houtvenne.
The company did supply a lot of plants to Ireland during the tiger era, but this business slowed subsequently because most of the demand came through property developers.
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