Article 18(2)
1. Any person suspecting the occurrence, or actual presence, of Potato Ring Rot in growing potatoes or harvested, stored or marketed tubers shall immediately notify the appropriate Plant Protection Service, which shall determine whether any further investigation is necessary.
2. Official testing pursuant to item 1 of this Schedule shall be carried out in accordance with appropriate methods to determine the actual presence of the Potato Ring Rot bacterium. A growing area, store or consignment shall be considered to be contaminated with the Potato Ring Rot bacterium if it is discovered in a single plant or tuber of potato. The official testing shall, in addition, be carried out either:
on potato stocks which are clonally related to the stock involved in the contaminated unit and which may be infected because of their clonal relationship or
on potato stock that may have become contaminated through contact with the contaminated stock or other objects which may also have been contaminated.
3. Where the occurrence of Potato Ring Rot is suspected or confirmed the appropriate Plant Protection Service shall take, or require to be taken, the necessary measures in accordance with Article 22 or 23 to prevent the spread, or potential spread of the disease.
4. Seed potatoes shall not be certified under Council Directive 66/403/EEC(1) on the marketing of seed potatoes unless they derive in direct line from material certified free of Potato Ring Rot. Such certification shall be based on tests carried out either:
on plants of the initial clonal selection, at least where the contamination affects seed potato production in the country of origin, or
on representative samples of the basic seed potatoes or earlier propagations.
5. Contaminated potatoes shall not be re-planted and grown on any land and they shall be treated in such a way so as to prevent the spread of the disease. Potatoes grown on a holding where any field, store or consignment is contaminated shall not be used as seed potatoes. No potatoes shall be grown in contaminated land during the two growing seasons following the recorded contamination or as long as volunteer potatoes are present therein.
6. In addition, where a field, store or consignment on a holding is contaminated the following shall be banned in the growing period following the appearance of Potato Ring Rot:
the planting of potatoes for the growing of seed potatoes, and
the planting of potatoes other than officially certified seed potatoes.
7. Any buildings, containers, packaging materials, vehicles, handling, grading or packing machinery and any other objects that may have come into contact with contaminated potatoes during the previous six months shall, under the supervision of an inspector, be destroyed or cleansed and disinfected, as appropriate, before coming into contact with other potatoes.
8. Following the contamination of potatoes, a zone covering an area within which the spread of Potato Ring Rot is possible shall be demarcated for a period of at least 3 years. In this demarcated zone the appropriate Plant Protection Service shall ensure supervision of the holding or holdings growing, storing or handling potatoes, and will take, or require by notice to be taken, all necessary measures as deemed necessary in accordance with Article 22 or 23 to prevent the spread of Potato Ring Rot.
9. No one shall, in the demarcated zone:
cut seed potatoes,
use pricker-type planting machines,
transport potato plants or tubers, unless such plants or tubers are free from Potato Ring Rot.
10. Subject to item 11 of this Schedule, no person shall keep cultures of (Clavibacter michiganensis) (Smith) Davis et al ssp.sepedonicus(Spieckermann et Kotthoff) Davis et al.
11. The appropriate Minister may authorise exemptions from any of the measures referred to in this Schedule for experimental or scientific purposes, and work in varietal selection, provided that such exemptions do not prejudice the control of Potato Ring Rot.
12. Additional or stricter measures as may be deemed necessary for the control of Potato Ring Rot or to prevent its spread may be taken, or required by notice to be taken, in accordance with Article 22 or 23.
OJ No. L125, 12.7.66, p.2320.