(1)

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1372 (2) establishes temporary measures to prevent the entry into, the movement and spread within, the multiplication and release in the Union of Meloidogyne graminicola Golden & Birchfield (‘the specified pest’). Those temporary measures apply until 30 June 2026.

(2)

Those temporary measures were necessary because the specified pest caused significant damage to plants of Oryza sativa L. in the areas of the Union territory where it occurred and because a risk assessment carried out by Italy in 2018 (3) concluded that it fulfilled the relevant criteria set out in Subsection 2 of Section 3 of Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2016/2031. Since the adoption of those temporary measures, annual surveys carried out by Italy have shown that the specified pest may spread to further areas where it is not controlled, and that it may be effectively controlled in those areas by adopting appropriate measures. In addition, surveys performed in the demarcated areas where the specified pest is present indicate that it can no longer be eradicated from certain of those demarcated areas.

(3)

Therefore, the specified pest fulfils the relevant criteria set out in Section 1 of Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 and qualifies as Union quarantine pest which is known to be present in the Union. Accordingly, it has been added to Part B of Annex II to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072 (4) by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1433 (5).

(4)

The aforementioned annual surveys demonstrate that the population of the specified pest and the surface of the infested area in Italy had increased after the pest was first detected in the Union territory, peaked in the first year after adoption of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1372 and have been decreasing since then. In addition, no outbreak has been recorded by any other Member State.

(5)

Despite this tendency, continuous efforts are needed to prevent the introduction of the specified pest from third countries where it occurs, and the spread out of infested areas within the Union territory. In order to further reduce the risk of spread, the specified pest should be eradicated from the Union territory as far as possible and should be effectively contained in those infested areas where eradication is not possible.

(6)

The application of the measures established under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1372 concerning the eradication and containment of the specified pest, as well as surveys, have proved effective in reducing to an acceptable level the risk of the specified pest to establish and to spread within the Union territory. Therefore, they should also be set out in this Regulation, with all necessary modifications.

(7)

The list of host plants set out in Annex I to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1372 no longer reflects the most recent scientific knowledge. Therefore, it is appropriate to provide for a revised list of host plants in Annex I to this Regulation.

(8)

In addition, measures concerning the establishment of demarcated areas and surveys of the specified pest should also be set out in this Regulation.

(9)

Demarcated areas should be established, consisting of an infested zone, which contains all plants infested or suspected to be infested by the specified pest, and a buffer zone of sufficient width around the infested zone, where the specified pest is not known to occur. Different measures should apply to demarcated areas for the purpose of eradication and demarcated areas for the purpose of containment, in accordance with Article 28(2) of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031.

(10)

Surveys should be carried out in the demarcated areas and on host plants outside those areas, in order to detect early the potential presence of the specified pest and prevent its spread to the rest of the Union territory. Member States should conduct annual surveys based on an assessment of the risk of introduction of the specified pest.

(11)

Member States should inform the general public and relevant professional operators about the threat of the specified pest and the measures taken against it to ensure a more effective approach by all persons possibly concerned. In particular, Member States should raise awareness about the danger of its spread through footwear and vehicles, because those means are the most commonly used by the general public.

(12)

The measures set out in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1372, concerning the introduction into and movement within the Union territory of plants for planting with roots of Oryza sativa L., that have been grown in soil (‘specified plants’), have been included in Annexes VII and VIII to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072 by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1433.

(13)

As those measures have been included in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072, and for reasons of legal clarity, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1372 should be repealed and replaced by this Regulation.

(14)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,

(1)

‘specified pest’ means Meloidogyne graminicola Golden & Birchfield;

(2)

‘specified plants’ means plants for planting with roots of Oryza sativa L., that have been grown in soil;

(3)

‘host plants’ means plants for planting with roots that have been grown in soil, of the genera and species listed in Annex I;

(4)

‘volunteer host plants’ means host plants which grow on their own in the places of production, without having been intentionally planted;

(5)

‘specified seeds’ means seeds of Oryza sativa L.;

(6)

‘specified objects’ means machinery, tools, vehicles, and personal equipment, which have been used for activities relating to the planting, treatment or harvesting of the host plants;

(7)

‘trap-crop-method’ means the sowing of plants of Oryza sativa L. to stimulate nematode hatching and root invasion, followed by the destruction of the plants, within a phenological phase which maximizes the efficacy of trapping, but not later than five weeks after planting.

(a)

removal of the specified plants in the infested zone in fields close to harvesting;

(b)

destruction of the specified plants in fields close to harvesting, in situ or in a nearby location designated for this purpose within the infested zone, in a manner ensuring that the specified pest is not spread;

(c)

prohibition of sowing of the specified seeds and prohibition of planting of the specified plants and host plants in the infested zone, except as trap-crops in application of the trap-crop-method;

(d)

regular elimination of volunteer host plants;

(e)

continuous flooding of fields in the infested zone for more than 18 months, and, if continuous flooding is not possible, application of the trap-crop method, or other methods preventing the pest from concluding its life cycle;

(f)

clearing and safe disposal of specified plants that are used for the trap-crop method within a phenological phase which maximizes the efficacy of trapping, but not later than five weeks after planting;

(g)

cleaning of specified objects that have been used in an infested zone from soil and plant debris, before being moved to the surrounding fields, while, during cleaning, avoiding residue dispersal out of the infested field;

(h)

prohibition of movement of soil in which specified plants or host plants have been grown in the previous three years out of the infested zone.

(a)

sowing of specified seeds and planting of specified plants, only if one of the following phytosanitary measures has been carried out:

(b)

regular elimination of volunteer host plants;

(c)

cleaning of specified objects, that have been used in the infested zone, from soil and plant debris before being moved to the surrounding fields, while, during the cleaning, avoiding residue dispersal out of the infested field;

(d)

prohibition of movement, outside of the infested zone, of:

(a)

Article 3 of this Regulation, using one of the templates set out in Annex I to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1231 (6);

(b)

Article 5(1) of this Regulation, using the template set out in Annex III to this Regulation.