Chris Jacobs (secretariat for the UK Science Partnership for Animal and Plant Health) was given a tour of both RBGE and SASA and met leading plant health experts as part of a fact finding and networking visit to Scotland.

Ian Toth gives the British Science Association lecture in Dundee 20th February 2019 entitled 'Reducing the burden of global pests and diseases' and introduces the Plant Health Centre and 'Don't Risk It' campaigns.

'Growing the Future' is a report from the UK Plant Sciences Federation (UKPSF), a special advisory committee of the Royal Society of Biology.

Published in January 2019, the report highlights to policymakers and others the excellence of plant science in the UK, and its importance to the biosciences, the economy, and society both at home and around the world.

Plant Health and biosecurity (pages 8-9) is seen as an important priority, with the Plant Health Centre acknowledged as a key mechanism 'to facilitate the mobilisation of plant science expertise to effect coordination of research and response efforts to major disease outbreaks' (page 9).

This report, commissioned by the Plant Health Centre, sets out estimates for the crop loss and value to Scottish crop production should the molluscicide metaldehyde be withdrawn. This would leave ferric phosphate as the only available chemical control option. Short term losses are negligible as the substitution of ferric phosphate carries no additional treatment costs and has equivalent efficacy. Longer term there is some risk should resistance arise to this single site mode of action active, and ferric phosphate (although of lower mammalian toxicity to metaldehyde) has some environmental impacts of its own.

Nicola Spence, the UK Chief Plant Health Officer states: "An outbreak of the eight-toothed spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus) in an area of woodland in Kent has been confirmed. It poses no threat to human health but can be a serious pest of the spruce tree species. We are taking swift and robust action to limit the spread of this outbreak as part of our well-established biosecurity protocol used for tree pests and diseases. I encourage anyone who suspects a sighting of the bark beetle to report these to the Forestry Commission on the Tree Alert portal."

Source: Defra in the media 10th December 2018

Prof Gerry Saddler (Chief Plant Health Officer for Scotland) and Prof Chris Quine (Sector lead for Forestry) introduce the Plant Health Centre at the Biodiversity Science Conference at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 2018.

Read the article by Prof Chris Quine (Sector Lead for Forestry) about the forests of the Tay catchment and the role that the Plant Health Centre can play in protecting them.

If the UK leaves the EU in March 2019 without a deal, find out how this would affect businesses or individuals that trade in plants and plant products with EU countries.

For more information go to 'Resources', 'Useful Links' and click on 'Plant health in a no-deal Brexit'

About 900 Japanese larch trees are to be felled at a National Trust garden in Argyll.

Work is due to start at Arduaine Garden next week, in an effort to prevent the spread of a damaging disease.

Phytophthora ramorum, more commonly known as sudden oak death, has already affected a number of forests across Scotland.

Volunteer potato plants in carrot fields in Finland were found to be positive for the Zebra chip pathogen Liberibacter. However, no disease developed and the pathogen was not transmitted to daughter plants.

Read the full abstract