Removal of plants
1. The Member State concerned shall immediately remove from the infected zone:
(a)
plants known to be infected by the specified pest;
(b)
plants showing symptoms indicating possible infection by that pest or suspected to be infected by that pest;
(c)
plants which belong to the same species as that of the infected plant, regardless of their health status;
(d)
plants of other species than that of the infected plant, which have been found infected in other parts of the demarcated area;
(e)
specified plants, other than the ones referred to in points (c) and (d), which have not been immediately subjected to sampling and molecular testing and have not been found free from the specified pest.
2. When removing the plants referred to in paragraph 1, the Member State concerned shall take all necessary precautions into account, and shall organise the removal on the basis of the level of risk posed by those plants
3. By way of derogation from points (b), (c) and (d) of paragraph 1, Member States may decide that individual specified plants officially designated as plants with historic value do not need to be removed, provided that all of the following conditions have been fulfilled:
(a)
the specified plants concerned are subject to annual inspection, sampling and testing by one of the molecular tests listed in Annex IV and it is confirmed that they are not infected by the specified pest;
(b)
the individual specified plants or the area concerned are subject to appropriate phytosanitary treatments against the vector population of the specified pest, in all its stages. Those treatments may include chemical, biological or mechanical methods, taking into account the local conditions.
Measures against the vectors of the specified pest
1. The Member State concerned shall apply appropriate phytosanitary treatments, in the infected zone, against the vector population of the specified pest, in all its stages. It shall apply those treatments prior to and during the removal of the plants referred to in Article 7(1). Those treatments shall include efficient chemical, biological or mechanical treatments against the vectors, taking into account the local conditions.
2. The Member State concerned shall apply agricultural practices for the control of the vector population of the specified pest, in all its stages, in the infected zone and in the buffer zone. It shall apply those practices at the most appropriate time of the year, regardless of the removal of the plants concerned. Those practices shall include efficient chemical, biological or mechanical treatments against the vectors, as appropriate, taking into account the local conditions.
Destruction of plants
1. The Member State concerned shall destroy the plants and parts of plants referred to in Article 7(1), in a manner ensuring that the specified pest is not spread, in situ or in a nearby location designated for this purpose within the infected zone or, provided that those plants or parts of plants are covered by net against the vectors, at the shortest distance from that location.
2. The Member State concerned may decide, on the basis of the risk level, to limit the destruction to the branches and foliage only and subject the related wood to phytosanitary treatment as referred to in Article 8(1). The root system of those plants shall be either removed or devitalised, with an appropriate phytosanitary treatment to avoid resprouting.
Annual surveillance of the demarcated area
In the entire demarcated area, the Member State concerned shall monitor, at the most appropriate times, the presence of the specified pest by annual surveys, in accordance with Article 2(5) and (6), and taking into account the information referred to in the Authority’s Pest Survey Card on Xylella fastidiosa.
In the infected zones, the Member State concerned shall sample and test the host plants, including the specified plants which have not been removed pursuant to Article 7(1). For that purpose, and taking into account the Authority’s Guidelines for statistically sound and risk-based surveys of Xylella fastidiosa, the survey design and sampling scheme shall be able to identify with at least 90 % confidence a level of presence of infected plants of 0,5 %.
In buffer zones, the Member State concerned shall sample and test the host plants, as well as other plants showing symptoms indicating possible infection or suspected to be infected by that pest. For that purpose, and taking into account the Authority’s Guidelines for statistically sound and risk-based surveys of Xylella fastidiosa, the survey design and sampling scheme shall be able to identify with at least 90 % confidence a level of presence of infected plants of 1 %, taking into account that the first 400 m surrounding the infected zones has a higher risk.
The Member State concerned shall also monitor the presence of the specified pest in the vectors located in the demarcated area in order to determine the risk of further spreading posed by vectors and to evaluate the effectiveness of the phytosanitary control measures applied in accordance with Article 8.
Other relevant measures for the eradication of the specified pest
1. The Member State concerned shall take any other measure which may contribute to the eradication of the specified pest, in accordance with International Standard for Phytosanitary Measure (‘ISPM’) No 9 ( 9 ) and to contributing to applying an integrated approach in accordance with the principles set out in ISPM No 14 ( 10 ) .
2. The Member State concerned shall take measures addressing any particularity or complication that could reasonably be expected to prevent, hinder or delay eradication, in particular those related to the adequate destruction of all plants that are infected or suspected of infection, or to the accessibility of their location, public or private ownership or the person or entity responsible for them.
3. The Member State concerned shall carry out appropriate investigations to identify the origin of the infection. It shall trace the host plants associated with the case of infection concerned, including those which were moved before a demarcated area was established. The results of such investigations shall be communicated to the Commission and the Member States in which those plants concerned originate, to the Member States through which those plants have moved and to the Member States where those plants have moved into.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
