Plant Quarantine and the International Transfer of Germplasm

Résumé du livre

This paper reviews the history of quarantine services, discusses principles for successful quarantine operations and identifies major constraints to the exchange of plant materials due to quarantine restrictions and procedures. It also explores some of the difficulties faced by quarantine services, plant breeders, and genebank curators in attempting to detect diseases or pests and clean up seeds and vegetative materials. The paper examines disease and pest screening techniques, with an emphasis on emerging biotechnologies that are revolutionizing diagnostic and clean up work for plant germplasm. It underscores the importance of intermediate quarantine, particularly for tropical cash crops. Finally, the paper analyzes ways to strengthen quarantine services worldwide so that crop improvement programs can operate more efficiently and effectively.