Plant virus: Stringent curbs demanded

“There are instances when infected plants easily escape the quarantine. We need more stringent quarantine methods so that no virus is imported,” said State Agriculture Commissioner Krishna Lavekar. This, because as per NRC experts, many grape plants could be symptom-less carriers as it takes a long time to express the symptoms. “Special quarantine for such material and greater involvement of agriculture universities in detecting viruses is needed,” adds Lavekar.

India has 35 plant quarantine stations at airports, sea ports and land frontiers which implement the regulations. As the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement of WTO envisages the application of phytosanitary measures based on scientific justifications, it is imperative to conduct all inspections as per the international guidelines.

“But the existing system lacks curbs on entry of infected plant material. There must be thorough observation of imported plant material which shows no symptoms of infection in early stages but could turn into a big problem after a few years,” says Dr S.D. Sawant, plant pathologist, NRC.

The NRC report notes that initially, imported material was grown only in close vicinity of vineyards owned by firms. “However, with the introduction of contract farming, most wineries are importing plant material,” it says.

The NRC, which conducted tests in 2002 and again in September 2007, has recommended that all varieties should carry certificates from recognised authorities from the exporting countries and imported plants should be tested again and grown in protected conditions for at least two years.

For a further debate, the NRC is planning a meeting next week.