Country: United States

Title: APHIS Declares Eradication of European Grapevine Moth (Lobesia botrana) and Eliminates All Quarantine Areas in California

Contact:
Richard Johnson, National Policy Manager, at 301-851-2109.

Report:

Effective immediately, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is declaring eradication of the European grapevine moth (EGVM) in California and eliminating all quarantine areas for EGVM. APHIS and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) have conducted extensive survey, control, and regulatory efforts for over three years and found Sonoma and Napa counties clear of EGVM. Therefore, APHIS is releasing the final 446 square miles of Napa and Sonoma Counties that have been under regulation since June 2010. The change allows for unrestricted movement of grapes and other host commodities from these areas.

EGVM is a significant pest of grapes and other specialty crops. In October 2009, APHIS confirmed the first detection of EGVM in the United States in major grape production areas of Northern California. In June 2010, APHIS issued Federal Order DA-2010-25 which established the requirements of the regulatory actions and quarantine boundaries. Since then, a series of Federal Orders and Letters to State and Territory Agricultural Regulatory Officials (SPRO Letters) have refined the program. APHIS has partnered with CDFA and the affected counties to work closely with industry, the University of California, and other stakeholders to eradicate this pest within California. Consequently, APHIS is rescinding those Federal Orders and SPRO Letters that regulated the outbreak of EGVM in the United States.

Under IPPC standards, Lobesia botrana is considered to be a pest that is abscent: eradicated from California and the United States.

Posted Date: Aug. 19, 2016, 9 a.m.