Plant quarantine as an aid to safer exchange, conservation and utilization of plant genetic resources

Exchange, conservation and utilization of Plant Genetic Resources (PGR) are the key factors towards providing food security to humankind & animals in the next century. Globally there are several instances of plant disease epidemics through introduced seed and other planting materials. In India, more than 60,000 samples each year are processed for quarantine examination for the detection of exotic pests and pathogens and weeds by employing various techniques such as joint visual inspection, washing test, incubation test, serological examination, nematode extraction techniques, X-ray radiography and post entry isolation growing etc. Such examination resulted in the detection of several pests and pathogens of very high quarantine significance including those not known to occur in India. Some of these are as follows: fungi-Peronospora manshurica, Fusarium nivale, Uromyces betae, Claviceps purpurea etc.; nematodes-Ditylenchus destructor, D dipsaci, Heterodera gottingiana, H. schachtii and Rhadinaphelenchus cocophilus; insects-Acanthoscelides obtectus, Bruchidius halodendri, Carpocarpa pomonella, Ephestia elutella, Eriococcus araucaria, Sitophilus granarius etc. On an average 88 per cent of the infectedlinfested samples were salvaged using various techniques such as hot water treatment, fumigation, ethyl alcohol wash, acid-treatment and pesticidal treatments etc. In this paper we are discussing in depth only fungi intercepted.