Lesson 2: Pest Identification Case Study
Topic 1: Communicating the Identification Framework
Just having a national pest identification framework in place is not enough. Clearly communicating this framework of plant pest identification procedures to everyone who works in agriculture, especially people dealing with plant pests, is key. Failure to communicate may result in costly misunderstandings.
Objective:
- To understand how critical it is to clearly communicate the national plant pest identification framework to everyone dealing with plant pests.
The following fictional story will demonstrate the goals of pest identification and the circumstances that influence decisions about testing and identification. This story also illustrates the importance of good record keeping and of using proper evidence to support pest identification.
Importland grows a lot of barumba berries (Tealeo berri). The berries are Importland’s largest horticultural export crop, accounting for about $1 billion (USD) annually. That is 5% of Importland’s combined agricultural exports, which are valued at about $20 billion (USD) annually. Because barumba berry production is vital to the nation’s economy, it must be protected. Watch the following video to learn more.
If this grower’s barumba berry farm is actually infected with Bdt, the infection may have spread to other plants or nearby farms while the original leaf samples remained in the private identifier’s office for three weeks. To avoid this situation, it is important to educate all plant health consultants and laboratories within your country on the rules for promptly sending samples to an authorized laboratory. That way, effective action to protect crop production can take place without unnecessary, and potentially dangerous, delays.
Keep in mind, the national framework does not provide all the materials and expertise needed to make an identification. It provides a set of rules and guidelines by which laboratories are given authority to make final identification, or in cases where the laboratory may not have in-house expertise for specific pests, provide authority to allow another, better-equipped laboratory to do the identifying. This is especially true with new or exotic pests. In these situations, it may be appropriate to send samples to a laboratory with more expertise, even a laboratory out of country, if necessary. However, this should all be clearly communicated in the country’s plant pest identification framework.
There may be many skilled consultants and laboratories in your country dealing with plant pests in one way or another. Thus, there may be many acceptable routes to identifying pests. Official frameworks are particularly useful for diagnosing unusual and exotic pests, or pests new to the area, but there may be other ways to handle the common pests frequently encountered. Whatever framework your country decides to provide, be sure to clearly communicate this pest identification framework to everyone, so that potential pest threats can be detected as early as possible.
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