DRAFT - SUBJECT TO STAKEHOLDER COMMENT

APHIS has drafted a pest risk assessment for the importation of Prunus spp. cuttings from Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom into the United States. The assessment describes potential quarantine pests associated with the commodity.

APHIS shares draft pest risk assessments to determine whether stakeholders have information that might lead us to revise the draft assessment before we identify pest mitigations and proceed with the commodity import approval process.

The draft pest risk assessment for Prunus spp. plants for planting from Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom will be available for review and comment until February 3, 2026. 

Executive Summary

The purpose of this report is to assess the pest risks associated with importing commercially produced unrooted, dormant cuttings of Prunus spp. (Rosaceae), from Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom into the United States for planting.

Based on the internal request submitted by Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ), we considered the pathway to include the following processes and conditions: commercially produced dormant, unrooted cuttings of Prunus spp. (with buds) stored and shipped in moisture retaining containers such as plastic bags, which may or may not contain moistened paper towels (or any other APHIS-approved packing material). Prunus spp. cuttings produced under different conditions were not evaluated and may pose a different pest risk.

We used scientific literature, port-of-entry pest interception data, and information from the government of Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom to develop a list of pests with quarantine significance for the United States. These are pests that occur in Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United
Kingdom on any host and are associated with the commodity plant species anywhere in the world.

The following organisms are candidates for pest risk management because they have met the threshold for unacceptable consequences of introduction and can follow the commodity import pathway.