Mandatory control of regulated pests

Allowing a very prolific pest to flourish without being controlled by a predator contributes to their spread to other plants and sooner or later to an epidemic that is difficult to control. In the end, you end up with an even more unbalanced environment. In french, failure to treat is a criminal offence for diseases that threaten the environment, as specified in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Order of 31 July 2000, consolidated on 12 February 2008 (1), supplemented by the Order of 15 December 2014 (2). This order includes a list of regulated harmful organisms gathered in two annexes. Annex A specifies the harmful organisms whose eradication is compulsory throughout France, and Annex B specifies "Certain harmful organisms, against which control is not compulsory throughout the territory and on a permanent basis, but whose spread may present a danger either at certain times, or within a specific perimeter, or on certain plants, plant products and other specific objects...".

For vegetable crops, some examples of pests subject to mandatory treatment are:

Clavibacter michiganensis (Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. Sepedonicus)

bacterial wilt of potato.

Meloidogine (Meloidogyne chitwoodi)

root-knot nematode found in tomato and pepper crops.

Brown Rot de la pomme de terre (Ralstonia solanacearum)

It is a plant pathogenic bacterium of soil and rhizosphere origin. This type of bacterium covers a very broad host spectrum of about 250 plant species, including tomato, potato and melon.

Mediterranean Noctuid (Spodoptera littoralis)

The caterpillar of this polyphagous and phyllophagous butterfly from Africa (a) is known to damage many crops, including legumes (beans, peas, broad beans, lentils, etc.).

Black scurf or potato scurf "verruqueuse" (Synchytrium endobioticum)

A fungal disease of potatoes characterised by the formation of cauliflower-like growths. The black spores can remain in the soil for several years.

The Japanese beetle or Japanese chafer (Popillia japonica)

The larva, which prefers to feed on grass roots, can attack certain vegetable plants such as strawberries, carrots and potatoes.

the fly South American leafminer (Liriomyza huidobrensis)

Newly introduced in Europe and very polyphagous, is common in vegetable crops in the south of France, the main vegetable host plants known in France are chicory, lettuce, cabbage, cucumber, celery, bean, chilli, pepper, tomato, potato.

Fruit trees can also fall victim to a harmful organism that must be treated, such as fire blight (Erwinia amylovora), which is considered one of the most dangerous diseases of pear, apple and quince trees, or sharka (Plum pox virus), which affects stone fruit species (peach, plum, apricot, etc.), and xillela fastidiosa in olive trees, which is caused by a bacterium carried by insects. This deadly disease can be found on more than 200 plant species (3).

a) Phyllophagous: feeds on the leaves.