The Plant Health (Official Controls and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2019

PART 3 Measures for the control of Potato wart disease

Interpretation

4.—(1) In this Part—

(a) “Potato wart disease” means either the disease of potatoes which is caused by the fungus Synchytrium endobioticum (Schilbersky) Percival or that fungus, as the context requires;

(b) a plot of land is to be regarded as a contaminated plot if Potato wart disease is confirmed by an official test to be present on at least one plant that is growing or was grown on that plot.

Official measures relating to contaminated plots of land

5.—(1) A plant health inspector must demarcate any contaminated plot and a safety zone around that plot which is large enough to ensure the protection of the surrounding areas.

(2) A plant health inspector must serve a notice under regulation 17(1) requiring any potato tubers or haulms which are present on the contaminated plot, or which come from the contaminated plot, to be treated in such a way that the Potato wart disease present on them is destroyed.

(3) Where a plant health inspector is satisfied that any potato tubers or haulms are contaminated with Potato wart disease and the inspector cannot determine whether those tubers or haulms have been present on a contaminated plot, the inspector may serve a notice under regulation 17(1) which requires the whole batch containing the affected tubers or haulms to be treated in such a way that there is no risk of Potato wart disease spreading.

Prohibition on the planting of potatoes on contaminated plots

6.—(1) Where a contaminated plot is demarcated under paragraph 5(1), no person may—

(a) grow any potatoes on the plot; or

(b) grow or store on the plot any plants intended for transplanting.

(2) No person may grow potatoes in a safety zone demarcated under paragraph 5(1) unless a plant health inspector is satisfied that they are of a variety which is resistant to the races of Potato wart disease found on the contaminated plot to which the safety zone relates.

(3) A potato variety is to be considered resistant to a particular race of Potato wart disease for the purposes of sub-paragraph (2) where that variety reacts to contamination by the pathogenic agent of that race in such a way that there is no danger of secondary infection.

Revocation of the demarcation of a contaminated plot

7.  Where a plant health inspector is satisfied that Potato wart disease is no longer present on a plot which was demarcated under paragraph 5(1) or on its associated safety zone, the inspector must revoke that demarcation.