Foreign plant pest

Abstract

Scope of Report: This report has been designed to present the potential danger of the introduced plant pest, and the economic losses it can and has caused once it becomes established in our country. A plant pest, as defined in the Federal Plant Pest Act of 1957, includes the invertebrate animals, bacteria, fungi, and viruses that cause injury or damage to a plant or plant products. Within the framework of this definition, plant and animal taxa in which most of these important plant pests occur have been grouped according to their taxonomic relationship. A brief description of the pest and damage it causes is given under the group in which it occurs. Major emphasis has been given to the plant pest that has gained entrance into the United States from a foreign country, and its possible method of introduction whenever this information was available.

Conclusions: Our first line of defense against a foreign plant pest is to prevent its entry if possible. Any plant pest of little economic importance in its native habitat may become a serious pest if moved to a new area. Thus, introduced plant pests from foreign countries have caused the United States enormous economic losses.

The influence of man, as a carrier of plant pests, has sharply reduced the effectiveness of seas and oceans which in the past have somewhat excluded the introduction of these foreign invaders. As travel and transport grow in volume, cooperation from a well informed public, as to the potential danger of the introduced pest, will be essential if we are to stop the pest from penetrating our first line of defense.