Biosecurity Australia has released a draft import risk analysis for Chinese apples, identifying 18 pests requiring quarantine measures, and inviting industry comment.
The analysis proposes measures to contain those pests, including pest-free area recognition, orchard control and surveillance, fruit bagging, pressurised air blasting, disinfection treatment and pre-export clearance by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service.
The 18 pests identified by the report are mites (2 species), Oriental fruit fly, mealybugs (2 species), moths (6 species), Japanese apple rust, Marssonina blotch, apple brown rot, European canker, apple scab, apple blotch, and sooty blotch and flyspeck complex.
Codling moth and apple scab already exist in Western Australia, the analysis points out, which has been taken into account for proposed regional quarantine measures.
Industry comments on the report must by in by 23 March 2009 to Biosecurity Australia.
