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 Why a US National Plant
Diagnostic Network?
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Coffee
rust into 19th century Ceylon
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Late
blight of potato into Ireland
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19th &
20th century chestnut blight, Dutch elm disease, & Asian
longhorn beetle
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Citrus
canker & plum pox virus
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Pierce’s
Disease
of grape
vectored by glassy winged sharpshooter
Undeniable
major impact of introduced pests:
It's not a question of “if” but of “when”
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Use of
plant pathogens as agents in biowarfare
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U.S.,
Soviet Union, U.K., Germany, Iraq, & other countries had
programs in anticrop biowarfare
Defending crops against agricultural bioterrorism
It is
unlikely that a serious problem with our crops will be
immediately obvious as an attack against our agriculture.
Overall Objective
To establish
a functional national network of existing diagnostic
laboratories to rapidly and accurately detect and report
pathogens, pests and weeds of national interest, whether
intentionally introduced or not.
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Prevention:
one can’t prevent all introductions, so regulatory response
is to contain and eradicate once introduced;
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Detection
network is critical for rapid and effective response;
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Given the
dispersed and exposed nature of agriculture, the detection
network must be distributed.
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