Abstract The European Commission requested the EFSA Panel on Plant Health to prepare and deliver risk assessments for commodities listed in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2019 as ‘High risk plants, plant products and other objects’. This Scientific Opinion covers plant health risks posed by plants of Betula pendula and B. pubescens imported from the United Kingdom (UK) taking into account the available scientific information, including the technical information provided by the UK. The commodities were grouped in the risk assessment as (a) bundles of 10–20 graftwood/budwood (up to 1‐year‐old), (b) bare root plants which include bundles of 25 or 50 seedlings or transplants (1–2 years‐old), bundles of 5, 10 or 15 whips (1–2 years‐old) and single bare root plants (1–7 years‐old), (c) plants in pots which include bundles of 5 and 10 cell‐grown plants (1–2 years‐old) and rooted plants in pots (1–7 years‐old), and (d) large specimen trees up to 15‐years‐old. All pests associated with the commodities were evaluated against specific criteria for their relevance for this opinion. Two EU quarantine pests i.e. Meloidogyne fallax and Phytophthora ramorum (non‐EU isolates) and two protected zone quarantine pests i.e. Entoleuca mammata and Thaumetopoea processionea fulfilled all relevant criteria and were selected for further evaluation. For the selected pests, the risk mitigation measures described in the technical dossier from the UK were evaluated considering the possible limiting factors. For these pests an expert judgement is given on the likelihood of pest freedom taking into consideration the risk mitigation measures acting on the pest, including uncertainties associated with the assessment. In the assessment of risk, the age of the plants was considered, as larger trees are more likely to be infested mainly due to longer time grown in the field. In addition, larger canopies and root systems are more difficult to inspect, thereby making the detection of pests more challenging on large trees. The likelihood of pest freedom varies among the pests evaluated, with M. fallax being the pest most frequently expected on the imported plants. The Expert Knowledge Elicitation (EKE) indicated with 95% certainty that between 9735 and 10,000 per 10,000 large specimen trees will be free from M. fallax.
Grapevine trunks in Sherry vineyards (Andalusia, SW Spain), yielding important registered designation of origin wines, are seriously affected by the drywood termite Kalotermes flavicollis. In order to analyze the patterns and extent of occurrence of the infesting groups, a 16-month-long investigation was performed, during which termites collected from each colonized grapevine trunk were recognized and counted according to the developmental stage or caste and the variation of caste proportions according to group size and season of occurrence was investigated. Results showed that different grapevine trunks exhibited different degrees of infestation, ranging from minuscule (0-50 individuals) to very large (more than 1000). Evaluating the composition and the occurrence of the colonizing groups, it was possible to determine that: a) minuscule groups, composed especially by eggs, reproductives, younger developmental stages and no alate adults, were probably 1-3 year old incipient colonies and occupied 12.6% of the infested grapevines; b) all groups with more than 50 individuals exhibited higher percentages of nymphal stages and, during fall, a considerable fraction (from 1/12 to 1/3) of the population was represented by alates, suggesting that they were mature colonies at different degrees of development. The greater part (64.2%) of infested vines were attacked by small-medium size colonies with a few hundred termites (51-700) and about 8% alates. Groups with the highest potential of infestation such as large colonies (up to 1000 units and 20% alates) and very large ones (1000-1692 individuals and 34% alates) were found respectively in 14.7% and 8.4% of termite colonized grapevines. The importance of these findings for the management of Sherry vineyards is discussed.
