Plant quarantine

The term “quarantine” comes from the Latin word “quarantine,” which means “40 days.” This is a system that defines what happens when a ship arrives from a country infected with Vibrio cholerae. In India, the Destructive Insects and Pests Act (DIP Act) was passed in 1914 to regulate quarantine. The crew and passengers were helpless in attempting to leave the ship for sufficient time for the infection to occur and be detected. Health officials wanted to make sure that the period of detention was long enough. The term was introduced to cover preventive strategies for eliminating pests and diseases in crops and garden crops after being associated with the field of animal diseases from the field of human diseases.

The federal and state governments have enacted phytosanitary regulations to prevent the invasion and spread of dangerous pests and pathogens. Quarantine protection of plants and plant products was first introduced by the government at the turn of the century, following a series of catastrophic pest and disease epidemics in different parts of the world, with quarantine regulations in 125 countries. Icerya scale insects, San Jose scale insects, potato golden cyst nematodes, and giant African slugs are some exotic pests that are brought into our country, and these cause great harm. Infections, on the other hand, find large amounts of damaged tissue that can heal and propagate unimpeded.

Importance of plant quarantine

The introduction of a single exotic insect or disease and its colonisation in a new environment will continue to cause significant national damage until the exotic insects and diseases are effectively controlled. In other situations, the government must spend millions of rupees before successfully controlling invasive pests and diseases.

Objectives of plant quarantine 

• New strains of pathogens have been developed to control the spread of harmful diseases and pests. 
• With the application of the DIP Act 1914 and the Plant Quarantine (Import Control to India) Order 2003, imported agricultural products are controlled to prevent the invasion of foreign pests and diseases harmful to Indian flora and fauna. 
• As required by FAO’s 1951 International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), plants and plant materials for export are controlled to ensure pest-free trade.

   

Agencies involved in plant quarantine 

The Plant Protection, Storage, and Storage Bureau, which is part of the Ministry of Agriculture, is primarily responsible for implementing the quarantine restrictions issued under the DIP Act. This agency is responsible for the import and export of seeds and seedlings from ethnic minorities for commercial purposes.

Inspection procedure in quarantine stations

Visual inspection, X-ray inspection, cleaning inspection, sedimentation inspection, culture inspection, growth inspection, and serological inspection follow these methods:

(a) ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay)
(b) DIBA (dot immunobinding assay)
(c) ISEM (Immune Adsorption Electron Microscope)
(d) Latex Agglutination Test, Nucleic Acid Hybridization and Polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Recovery of infected substances 

Once a pest, pathogen, or weeds are found in the saplings brought in and quarantined, the staff must make every effort to disinfect/decontaminate the material and make it more usable. 

Exploitation in the country without undue delay. Mechanical cleaning approach used for salvage is hot water treatment, X-ray, radiography, fumigation, chemical treatment, and isolated cultivation of Chemically treated seeds.

Guidelines for plant quarantine

• A country is free of significant pathogens with effective phytosanitary services. Therefore, guidance and treatment will receive plant materials from the free datasheets of the selected country. 
• Upon receipt of untreated seeds, seed-derived pathogens can be detected, and seed pathologists can look for pest-free and disease-free healthy seeds from the exporting country. 
• The less planting material, the less likely it is to spread the infection and the more difficult it is to detect and treat. 
• Other precautions, such as the material used to post the internal quarantine, are inadequate. There are a total of three agencies responsible for quarantine processing of plants and planting materials:
  – National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), New Delhi.
  – Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun
  – Botanical Survey of India (BIS), Calcutta.

Ongoing activities under the scheme

• Quarantine control and laboratory tests are conducted to ensure that plants and plant materials are free of exotic pests. 
• A total of 150 employees are empowered by the central, state, and UT governments to carry out phytosanitary certification (issuance of phytosanitary certificate (PSC)). 
• The agency is obliged to carry out post-import certification of quarantine facilities and inspection of imported cultivation. 
• Plants and plant materials to improve access to the export market of Indian agricultural products from the perspective of phytosanitary. 
• Promote safe global agricultural trade by assisting producers and exporters by providing a technically competent and reliable phytosanitary certification system that meets the needs of trading partners. 
• The grant is awarded to a designated inspection agency to cover travel expenses and to the issuing government’s PC authorities to provide the minimum equipment required for export inspection/certification.

Conclusion 

Health officials wanted to make sure that the period of detention was long enough. The term “quarantine” is synonymous with detention and associated practices. The federal and state governments have enacted phytosanitary measures to prevent the invasion and spread of dangerous pests and pathogens. Adding new species (pests and diseases) to the environment can affect human well-being. The PQ process serves as an important means of eliminating pest harvest. The current implementation of quarantine is highly emphasised to combat pests. Second, it helps maintain plant productivity.