Introduced plant pests and pathogens have a significant impact on businesses, organisations, landowners and the wider natural environment.  The current UK plant health regime relies heavily on the plant passporting system for Professional Operators to manage plant movements within Great Britain, and phytosanitary certificates for imported plants.

A previous PHC funded project (PHC2021/01) identified that stakeholder felt more definitive information/guidance would help them with risk assessments and adoption of tighter biosecurity measures.  Pulling together more accessible, up-to-date, pest-relevant information for the plant species which they grow and/or move would support Professional Operators when assessing pest risks to their site and/ore operations and also when presenting information for the purposes of being authorised to issue plant passports.

This research project aimed to help address this knowledge gap by developing 39 pest-specific datasheets and a prototype webtool for Professional Operators. These tools provide tailored pest information to use when issuing plant passports and support risk assessments for site operations. Case studies were also developed to illustrate practical examples of plant biosecurity best practices.