Plant passport requirement expanded

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From 14 December 2019 the requirement to have a plant passport will be expanded as a consequence of the new Plant Health Regulation. The new Plant Health Regulation replaces the current European Phytosanitary Directive 2000/29/EC.

The requirement to have a plant passport will apply to all ‘plants intended for planting out’. According to the EU definition, these are plants that can produce mature plants and are meant to do so. These plants must be planted out, replanted or remain planted. Everything that we now call cultivation material falls under this definition (thus also seeds), as well as all pot, bedding and container plants ‘for consumption’.

What does it mean for you?
All growers of pot, bedding and container plants will be subject to the plant passport requirement, including the trade companies that handle these products (for trade within the EU). This means that all companies will be given one plant health registration number, which must be specified on the plant passport.

More information?
Flyer Changes in the Plant Health Regulation
Read more on the Royal FloraHolland website

Choice of pre-treatment products for Rosa will be changed

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On 15 March 2018, there will be a change in the VBN product specification for Rosa.

In the past year, the Post Harvest Knowledge Centre has carried out verification testing to ascertain whether the Floralife Express Clear 100 product complies with the VBN norms for the pre-treatment of roses. Research has revealed that all of the conditions have been met, and this product can be added to the obligatory products in the VBN product specification for Rosa.

Change:

  • Floralife Express Clear 100 is being added as approved product for the pre-treatment of Rosa (code 90 on the product’s label). Already listed products remain authorized together with this new one.
  • You must state the correct code of the pre-treatment product in your supply information. With this code the laboratory can check that the pre-treatment product is being used correctly.
    o The grading code S65 pre-treatment must be added from today at position 6 in your EDF software package.
    o Under the grading code S65, you must select the correct pre-treatment product using code 90 on the label of the product = Floralife Express Clear 100.

This product is exclusively for use as prescribed in the instructions for use.

If you are currently still using Floralife Rose 100, you must use up your stocks by 15 May 2018 and then switch to Floralife Express Clear 100. If you need a longer period, please contact first contact the laboratory of Royal FloraHolland.

Six additions to the EU Xylella host plant list

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The European Commission has added 6 new plants to the Xylella host plant list. The host plant list contains plants that are susceptible to Xylella fastidiosa. All plants on this list require plant passports for trading within the EU.

The new host plants are:

  • Calicotome spinose;
  • Coronilla glauca;
  • Euryops chrysanthemoides;
  • Genista lucida;
  • Medicago sativa;
  • Prunus cerasus.

The latest version of the Xylella host plant list (update 10) can be consulted on the European Commission website. For more information regarding plant passports and Xylella fastidiosa consult the NVWA website.

Cleaning up and making the ‘colour-treated’ product codes uniform from 1 February 2018

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Customers have been expressing a need for greater clarity in terms of colour-treated product codes. Apparently, colour-treated product codes are not required to specify the colour, but the situation is not uniform. Currently, the quality code S50 ‘flower/berry/fruit colour’ is recommended, the colour is added to the product name, or neither is applicable.

Therefore, a new quality code S87 ‘colour-treated’ has been created. From 1 February 2018 it will be added as a recommended quality code to the colour-treated product codes. After 3 months, from 1 May 2018, use of S87 will become mandatory.

What will change precisely?

  • The number of colour-treated product codes will be reduced from 359 to 103. Product codes with a colour in the product name will be deleted; the colour will be specified from then on by quality code S87;
  • The product codes to be deleted will be blocked from 1 April 2018;
  • We are imposing uniformity by adding S87 as the prescribed quality code to the 6th position to all colour-treated product codes (the 4th or 5th position for a few product codes);
  • For the first 3 months, S87 will be recommended, and then made mandatory from 1 May 2018.

Added an overview of the colour-treated product codes that will remain and those that will be deleted (2 tabs).
Product codes colour-treated 2018

Name change Pennisetum setaceum varieties

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Last June, we informed that the Pennisetum setaceum varieties had definitively been added by the European Commission to the list of invasive plants.

DNA examination has shown that the following varieties are not related to Pennisetum setaceum. Their incorrect classification had threatened to have these varieties banned under the European legislation on invasive exotics.

The names of the varieties in question have been changed so they will not fall under the cultivation and marketing ban announced by the European Union. This concerns the following product codes at the VBN auctions:

Product code Old Product name New Product name
51152 Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’ → Pennisetum advena ‘Rubrum’
318177 Pennisetum setaceum Red Riding Hood → Pennisetum advena ‘Red Riding Hood’
318967 Pennisetum setaceum ‘Metallica’ → Pennisetum advena ‘Metallica’
320115 Pennisetum setaceum ‘Sky Rocket’ → Pennisetum advena ‘Sky Rocket’

Pennisetum setaceum (product code 51151) remains banned.

Grading code S04 (Plant diameter) mandatory for Argyranthemum frutescens from 1 April 2018

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With Argyranthemum frutescens, customers are increasingly considering the plant diameter to be important product information, a significant factor when deciding on a purchase. Given this development, we are going to make this product information available as a mandatory prescribed characteristic. This proposal has been accepted by the VBN Regulations Steering Group.

From 1 January 2018, the grading code S04 (plant diameter) will be added to position 3 for Argyranthemum frutescens (product group 3 09 004 01). It will be set as advisory for the first 3 months and then made mandatory from 1 April 2018.

Group

code

 Full product name

Characteristic pos. 1

 Characteristic pos. 2 Characteristic pos. 3 Charact. pos. 4

Characteristic pos. 5
3 09 004 01 Argyranthemum frutescens

S01

 S02 S04 S54
Mandatory Mandatory Mandatory

Advisory

S01 = Pot size
S02 = Minimum plant height
S04 = Minimum plant diameter
S54 = Plant shape

Import from India

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After consultations at the EU level, the NVWA has decided that ‘electronic’ phytosanitary certificates from India with the text ‘digitally signed’ will no longer be accepted because the EU still has not come to an agreement with India about the use of electronic certificates.

This means that:
Phytosanitary certificates that are certified on November 1 or thereafter may not carry the text ‘digitally signed’, but must have an original wet stamp and an original wet signature.

Information about the False Codling Moth, intended for trade flows from Africa / Israel

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False Codling Moth (scientific name Thaumatotibia leucotreta) will be given the quarantine status in the European Union from November 2017.

False Codling Moth is a polyphagous pest which can feed on more than 70 host plants among which important crops like citrus, peppers (Capsicum spp.), roses, maize and cotton. The specie is present in most African countries and Israel and can cause extensive damage, especially in citrus fruits and peppers in Europe, what is the main reason for the decision of the European Commission to give it a quarantine status. This means that from November 2017 roses and other host plants imported into the EU have to be free of eggs, larvae or moths of the False Codling Moth. If eggs, larvae or moths are found the consignment will be rejected and destroyed.

Currently, infected roses are not rejected when imported into the EU and the findings are not registered for the “reduced checks” system. From November the rejections of infected rose shipments can influence the“ reduced check” percentage for roses from Kenya, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe. A higher percentage of reduced checks will lead to more inspections, higher costs and logistical delays.

Growers, ex/import companies and unpackers have to be aware of the strict requirements concerning False Codling Moth when exporting to the EU. Rose growers in African countries and Israel need to take adequate measures to prevent rejections of shipments.

Appendix:
Dutch information folder Thaumatotibia leucotreta

Addition to productspecification Tanacetum starting 1 September 2016

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A proposal has been made to the VBN Steering Group to add to the current product specification the option to make the supply of bunches of 25 stems and grading code L11 (number of stems per bunch) mandatory, after a 3-month implementation period. This proposal was accepted by the VBN Steering Group.

 

From 1 September 2016 the option will be added to make bunches of 25. The grading code L11 (number of stems per bunch) will be recommended from 1 September 2016 and made mandatory from 1 December 2016. The following condition will be added to the product specification.

 

Tanacetum parthenium should:

 

• be supplied in bunches of 5 stems;

• be bundled in bundles of 5 bunches (25 stems);

• be packed in a sleeve.

OR

• be supplied in bunches of 25 stems;

• each bunch of 25 stems should be packaged in a sleeve.

 

Suppliers have to enter the grading code L11 (number of stems per bunch) themselves to position 5 in their EDF software package.

Additions to the EU-list Xylella host plant and plant passport requirement

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The European Commission has added the following host plants to the list (update 9). For all plants on this list plant passports are legally required in case of marketing within the EU.

The new host plants are:

  • Cercis siliquastrum
  • Cytisus villosus
  • Ficus carica
  • Fraxinus angustifolia
  • Lavandula x intermedia
  • Prunus domestica
  • Rosa canina
  • Vitis vinifera

For more information regarding plant passport and Xylella fastidiosa consult the NVWA website and NVWA Xylella.