Commodity risk assessment of Malus domestica plants from Ukraine

The European Commission requested the EFSA Panel on Plant Health to prepare and deliver riskassessments for commodities listed in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2019 as 'Highrisk plants, plant products and other objects'). This Scientific Opinion covers plant health risks posedby 1- to 3-year-old dormant grafted plants and rootstocks of Malus domestica imported from Ukraine,taking into account the available scientific information, including the technical information provided byUkraine. All pests associated with the commodity were evaluated against specific criteria for theirrelevance for this opinion. Two quarantine pests (Lopholeucaspis japonica and Tobacco ringspot virus),one protected zone quarantine pest (Erwinia amylovora) and one non-regulated pest (Eotetranychusprunicola) that fulfilled all relevant criteria were selected for further evaluation. For Erwinia amylovora,for which special requirements are specified in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072,Annex X, item 9, the fulfilment of these requirements was evaluated. Based on the informationprovided in the dossier, the specific requirements for Erwinia amylovora were not met. For the threeremaining selected pests, the risk mitigation measures proposed in the technical dossier from Ukrainewere evaluated taking into account the possible limiting factors. For the selected pests, an expertjudgement is given on the likelihood of pest freedom taking into consideration the risk mitigationmeasures acting on the pest, including uncertainties associated with the assessment. The degree ofpest freedom varies among the pests evaluated, with Eotetranychus prunicola being the pest mostfrequently expected on the imported plants. The Expert Knowledge Elicitation indicated with 95Îrtainty that between 9,912 and 10,000 bundles (consisting of 50 plants each) per 10,000 would befree from Eotetranychus prunicola.