Plant Quarantine Issues for Germplasm Exchange and Scope for Networking in South Asia

Exchange of plant genetic resources (PGR) has contributed significantly towards crop improvement and increased crop production in the South Asian countries. For safe exchange of germplasm the quarantine related issues which are either legislative or technical need to be addressed. The legislative issues are country specific while those of quarantine processing and methodology are applicable to all. Taking the case of India. the Plant Quarantine (Regulation of Import into India) Order, 2003 is more for facilitating bulk imports than for exchange of germplasm with pest risk analysis (PRA) made mandatory prior to issue of import permit. But in case of germplasm, a large number of species of cultivated crops (and their wild relatives/land races) with useful traits are imported and doing PRA for them becomes difficult as their pest profile is not available. The technical issues include deployment of nondestructive methods for detection of pests in small samples, delay in release of samples due to post entry quarantine requirements, availability of diagnostic reagents such as antisera for viruses/bacteria and the need for reference collection of insect pests. Besides, research also needs to be intensified and databases developed. There is a need for a regional plant quarantine network in South Asia on the lines of the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization to facilitate smooth flow of ptanting material/plant products within and outside the region. It would also facilitate PRA and help in preventing use of non-tariff barriers in international trade. In view of scarcity of resources in the region capacity building under multidisciplinary collaborative research projects need to be taken up with the help of international organizations for safe exchange and quarantine of germplasm.