Alerts

Following a review of permitted cucurbitaceous species listings, the department has amended the list of species that are subject to import conditions under the ‘Xylella fastidiosa host for use as nursery stock’ and ‘Cucurbits as nursery stock requiring testing’ BICON cases.

The changes are described below:

This amendment was put in place to ensure that all species and their synonyms are being consistently regulated for the range of quarantine pests associated with imported propagative material. In brief:

• The species being moved into the ‘Cucurbits as nursery stock requiring testing’ case are synonyms or subordinate taxa of regulated cucurbitaceous species, including Citrullus lanatus, Cucumis melo and Cucurbita pepo, which are hosts of pathogens such as Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV).
  

• The species being moved into the ‘Xylella fastidiosa hosts for use as nursery stock’ case are considered to be synonyms or subordinate taxa of Cucurbita argyrosperma, a species that is not a host of CGMMV.
  

Stakeholders are reminded that the import conditions for cucurbit nursery stock requiring testing are currently suspended under emergency measures for CGMMV. While the department completed a pest risk analysis for CGMMV on imported seed for sowing in 2017, the justification of emergency measures behind the suspension of host tissue cultures and nursery stock imports will be reviewed by the department at a later date. Importers seeking to import these species are to contact the department for further information.

Import permits:
There are no import permits affected by this change.

Who does this notice affect:
Importers of cucurbit species, brokers and Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment staff.

Further information:
Please contact Plant Import Operations on 1800 900 090 or email imports@agriculture.gov.au.