The Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) has submitted for member consultation the draft diagnostic protocol (DP) for Thrips palmi (an insect that causes economic damage to plant crops both as a direct result of its feeding activity and as a result of its ability to vector tospoviruses). The 13-page protocol describes, inter alia, four PCR-based molecular assays that can be used for discrimination of Thrips palmi. DPs are published as annexes to International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) No. 27 (Diagnostic protocols for regulated pests) and they describe procedures and methods for the detection and identification of pests that are regulated by Contracting Parties of the IPPC and relevant for international trade. The draft DP was developed by the Technical Panel on Diagnostic Protocols (TPDP). See the draft DP at https://www.ippc.int/id/184110?language=en (in Arabic, Chinese, English, French and Spanish), meeting reports of the TPDP at https://www.ippc.int/id/59235?language=en or contact [email protected] for more information. The IPPC is an international treaty relating to plant health, to which 161 governments currently adhere, and its Secretariat is based at FAO Headquarters, Rome.

03/07/2007