Signal UK Plant Health Risk Register in place since 2013

Summary

The UK Plant Health Risk Register was set up in 2013 and is used to prioritise and manage risks from pests and disease. The report lists it alongside the Plant Biosecurity Strategy for Great Britain and an international action plan for plant health as mitigations against plant pests. As background, the report points out that more than 200 quarantine pests are listed globally and that the number grows each year as new threats are identified. Six of these are already established in Great Britain. Previously eradicated fungal cereal pathogens have also returned, with wheat stem rust detected in 2013 for the first time in 60 years. The report adds that disease-resistant varieties need less land for the same yield and cut the time and money farmers spend on pest control.