True Potato Seed From Chile

SUMMARY: We are proposing to allow, under certain conditions, the

importation of true potato seed from Chile. The true potato seed

proposed for importation from Chile would originate from certified

virus-free plantlets from the United States, be produced under the

supervision of Chilean plant protection authorities, and be tested for

seedborne viruses prior to being offered for entry into the United

States. Allowing the importation of true potato seed from Chile would

give potato producers in the United States another means of producing

disease-free tubers.

DATES: Consideration will be given only to comments received on or

before October 11, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Please send an original and three copies of your comments to

Chief, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, USDA, room 804,

Federal Building, 6505 Belcrest Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782. Please

state that your comments refer to Docket No. 94-042-1. Comments

received may be inspected at USDA, room 1141, South Building, 14th

Street and Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and

4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. Persons wishing to

inspect comments are requested to call ahead on (202) 690-2817 to

facilitate entry into the comment reading room.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Peter M. Grosser or Mr. Frank E.

Cooper, Senior Operations Officers, Port Operations, Plant Protection

and Quarantine, APHIS, USDA, room 632, Federal Building, 6505 Belcrest

Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782, (301) 436-6799.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The regulations in 7 CFR part 319 prohibit or restrict the

importation into the United States of certain plants and plant products

to prevent the introduction of plant pests. The regulations contained

in ``Subpart--Nursery Stock, Plants, Roots, Bulbs, Seeds, and Other

Plant Products,'' Secs. 319.37 through 319.37-14 (referred to below as

the regulations), restrict, among other things, the importation of

living plants, plant parts, and seeds for propagation.

One of the articles restricted in the regulations is Solanum

species (spp.) true seed, also known as true potato seed. ``Solanum

spp. true seed'' is defined in Sec. 319.37-1 as ``seed produced by

flowers of Solanum capable of germinating and producing new Solanum

plants, as distinguished from Solanum tubers, whole or cut, that are

referred to as Solanum seeds or seed potatoes.''

Currently, Sec. 319.37-2(a) of the regulations prohibits the

importation into the United States of Solanum spp. true seed from all

parts of the world except Canada and New Zealand. The prohibition is in

place due to the risk of introducing three seedborne viruses--Andean

Potato Latent Virus, Potato Virus T, and the Andean Potato Calico

Strain of Tobacco Ringspot Virus--into the United States. (True potato

seed may be imported from Canada and New Zealand because the viruses

are not reported to occur in those countries.)

The Chilean ministry of agriculture, the Servicio Agricola y

Ganadero (SAG), has informed the Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service (APHIS) that, of the viruses of concern mentioned above, only

Andean Potato Latent Virus has been reported to occur in Chile, and

then only in limited areas of the country. One area of Chile where

Andean Potato Latent Virus is not reported to occur is the country's

Tenth (X) Region (that area of the country between 39 deg. and 44 deg.

South latitude). SAG has designated the entire X Region as a

quarantined area for potatoes and restricts the entry of potato seeds,

true seed, plants, and tubers into the quarantined area. Given the

apparent absence of seedborne viruses of Solanum spp. in the X Region,

SAG has requested that APHIS allow the importation into the United

States of true potato seed from the X Region of Chile.

Based on our review of the information provided by SAG and a review

of the scientific literature on the occurrence of seedborne potato

diseases, we are proposing to amend the regulations to allow, under

certain conditions, the importation of true potato seed from the X

Region of Chile.

We are proposing to require that Solanum spp. true seed imported

into the United States from Chile be produced using certified virus-

free Solanum spp. plantlets from the United States. Under the protocol

submitted by SAG, the Solanum plants that would produce the true potato

seed in Chile would be propagated from the virus-free Solanum spp.

plantlets imported into Chile from the United States. Although the

seedborne viruses discussed above are not reported to exist in the

United States, SAG's phytosanitary standards require that the Solanum

spp. plantlets be certified as virus-free before they may enter Chile.

We believe that this use of certified virus-free Solanum spp. plantlets

from the United States will provide a virus-free base for the

production of Solanum spp. true seed in Chile. Such a virus-free base,

when combined with the proposed sampling and testing requirements

discussed below, would minimize the likelihood that any seedborne

viruses would be introduced into the United States by Solanum spp. true

seed imported from Chile.

In order to confirm the virus-free status of the growing area and

the Solanum plants used to produce the true potato seed in Chile, we

would require that Solanum spp. tubers, plants, and seeds from each

field in which the Solanum plants that produce the true potato seed are

grown be sampled by SAG once per growing season at a rate to allow the

detection of 1 percent contamination with a 99 percent confidence

level. This works out to a sampling rate of approximately 17 tubers, 17

plants, and 17 true seeds per acre. SAG has indicated that the Solanum

plants used to produce the true potato seed would be cultivated in 30-

acre fields; thus, the sampling rate necessary to achieve the 99

percent confidence level in a 30-acre field would be 500 tubers, 500

plants, and 500 true seeds per 30-acre field. The samples would have to

be tested by SAG using the nitro-cellulose membrane (NCM) enzyme-linked

immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test, which is a serologic test capable of

detecting the presence of the viruses of concern. We would require that

the samples test negative for Andean Potato Latent Virus, Potato Virus

T, the Andean Potato Calico Strain of Tobacco Ringspot Virus, and

Arracacha Virus B.

Arracacha Virus B is not currently cited in Sec. 319.37-2(a) of the

regulations as being a plant pest of concern to Solanum spp. true seed,

as is the case with the first three viruses mentioned, but that virus

has been reported to exist in Bolivia and Peru. Because each of those

countries shares a border with Chile, we believe it is necessary to

screen the Solanum spp. tubers, plants, and true seed to ensure that

Arracacha Virus B--as well as Andean Potato Latent Virus, Potato Virus

T, and the Andean Potato Calico Strain of Tobacco Ringspot Virus--would

not be introduced into the United States. Because Arracacha Virus B has

been identified in the scientific literature and in this document as a

plant pest of potatoes and true potato seed, we also propose to add

Arracacha Virus B to the list of plant pests of concern in both the

``Solanum spp.'' entry and the ``Solanum spp. true seed'' entry in the

table of prohibited articles in Sec. 319.37-2(a).

We would require that true potato seed imported into the United

States from Chile be accompanied by a permit issued by APHIS. The

permit would help APHIS inspectors at the port of first arrival in the

United States ensure that the true potato seed originated in Chile. To

add this proposed permit requirement to the regulations, we would add a

new paragraph to Sec. 319.37-3(a), which lists the categories of

restricted articles that may be imported into the United States only

after a permit has been issued by APHIS.

In adding that new paragraph, we would also modify a potentially

misleading paragraph in the same section. Paragraph (a)(3) of

Sec. 319.37-3 currently reads ``Bulbs of Allium sativum spp. (garlic),

Crocosmia spp. (montebretia), Gladiolus spp. (gladiolus), and Watsonia

spp. (bugle lily); true seed of Solanum spp. (tuber bearing species

only--Section Tuberarium) from New Zealand.'' The ``from New Zealand''

qualification applies only to Solanum spp. true seed, but its placement

at the end of the paragraph could lead a reader to mistakenly assume

that the ``from New Zealand'' qualification also applies to the bulbs

listed in the same paragraph. Therefore, we would move the text

referring to Solanum spp. true seed from New Zealand out of

Sec. 319.37-3(a)(3) and combine it with the proposed new entry for

Solanum spp. true seed from Chile that we would add to Sec. 319.37-

3(a).

We would also require that true potato seed imported into the

United States from Chile be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate

of inspection issued in Chile by SAG. The phytosanitary certificate of

inspection would have to confirm that SAG had visually inspected the

true seed for plant pests prior to its export, and provide written

verification that the conditions in our regulations regarding the

growing, sampling, and analysis of the true potato seed, Solanum

plants, and tubers have been met.

We believe that these multiple safeguards would be sufficient to

prevent the introduction of seedborne viruses into the United States on

true potato seed from Chile.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act

This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866.

The rule has been determined to be not significant for the purposes of

Executive Order 12866 and, therefore, has not been reviewed by the

Office of Management and Budget.

This proposed rule would allow, under certain conditions, the

importation of true potato seed from Chile. The true potato seed

proposed for importation from Chile would originate from certified

virus-free plantlets from the United States, would be grown under the

supervision of Chilean plant protection authorities, and a sample of

the plants, tubers, and true potato seeds would be tested for seedborne

viruses prior to the true potato seed being offered for entry into the

United States. Allowing the importation of true potato seed from Chile

would give potato producers in the United States another means of

producing disease-free tubers.

The United States produced approximately 2,880 million pounds of

seed potatoes in 1992 (U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA], Economic

Research Service). During that same period, the United States imported

approximately 128 million pounds of seed potatoes, which represents

about 4.4 percent of U.S. production. Because imports represent such a

small portion of the domestic seed potato supply, fluctuations in

import levels and prices would be expected to have no significant

effect on domestic seed potato prices.

For example, U.S. imports of seed potatoes declined by more than a

third between 1990 and 1992, dropping from 201 million pounds in 1990

to 128 million pounds in 1992. This decline in imports did not,

however, result in an increase in U.S. grower or retail prices for seed

potatoes. In fact, the price of imported seed potatoes also fell by

more than a third during that time, dropping from $11 per 100 pounds in

1990 to $7 per 100 pounds in 1992 (USDA, ``Agricultural Statistics

1992,'' Table 371, page 239). Based on the decline in both import

levels and price during the same 2-year period, it appears that

domestic seed potato prices are influenced more by the volume of U.S.

production.

The import levels and prices discussed above do not reflect any

imports of true potato seed from anywhere in the world, nor is there

any record of true potato seed being imported into the United States.

Our records indicate that true potato seed is a product that is not

currently commercially available in the United States. If true potato

seed is allowed to be imported into the United States from Chile, we

expect that it would take several years before true potato seed and its

products would be in a position to capture any significant market

share. Thus, its potential impact on price and competition in the

potato seed market remains uncertain.

We have identified domestic seed potato producers and seed potato

importers as the entities potentially affected by this proposed rule.

According to the Small Business Administration's criteria, an

agricultural producer is considered to be a small entity if it has

annual sales of less than $500,000; an importer is considered to be a

small entity if it employs fewer than 100 people. According to the U.S.

Department of Commerce's ``1987 Census of Agriculture,'' there were

about 14,732 farms that produced potatoes in the United States, and

about 96 percent of those farms reported sales of less than $100,000.

The exact percentage of those farms that produced only seed potatoes or

a combination of seed potatoes and table potatoes is not known, but it

is likely that the number is small, based on the total production of

seed potatoes versus table potatoes (2,880 million pounds vs. 42,500

million pounds, respectively).

Information regarding the total number of seed potato importers and

the percentage of those importers that would be considered small

entities was unavailable. It is unlikely, however, that allowing the

importation of true potato seed from Chile would have a significant

impact on seed potato import levels. The true potato seed imported from

Chile could be used by potato producers in the United States to produce

potatoes of a different variety than those potatoes currently grown in

the United States; the economic impact of the imported true potato seed

would thus be affected by consumer response to the new variety of

potatoes. If consumer response was favorable and true potato seed

imported from Chile became competitive with the seed potatoes currently

available in the United States, the price of seed potatoes could be

driven down. However, because U.S. seed potato prices are influenced

more by domestic production and market conditions than by imports, it

is likely that any economic impact on domestic seed potato producers

would be small. Any slight negative impact would likely be offset by

the positive impact on domestic potato producers, who would benefit

from lower seed potato prices, and consumers would benefit from any

resulting lower prices.

Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and

Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action would

not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small

entities.

Executive Order 12778

This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778,

Civil Justice Reform. This proposed rule would allow true seed of

Solanum spp. to be imported into the United States from Chile. If this

proposed rule is adopted, State and local laws and regulations

regarding true seed imported under this rule would be preempted while

the true seed is in foreign commerce. Seeds are generally imported for

immediate distribution and sale to the public, and would remain in

foreign commerce until sold to the ultimate consumer. The question of

when foreign commerce ceases in other cases must be addressed on a

case-by-case basis. If this proposed rule is adopted, no retroactive

effect will be given to this rule, and this rule will not require

administrative proceedings before parties may file suit in court.

Paperwork Reduction Act

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (44 U.S.C.

3501 et seq.), the information collection or recordkeeping requirements

included in this proposed rule have been approved by the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB), and there are no new requirements. The

assigned OMB control number is 0579-0049.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 319

Bees, Coffee, Cotton, Fruits, Honey, Imports, Incorporation by

reference, Nursery stock, Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine,

Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Rice, Vegetables.

Accordingly, 7 CFR part 319 would be amended as follows:

PART 319--FOREIGN QUARANTINE NOTICES

1. The authority citation for part 319 would continue to read as

follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 150dd, 150ee, 150ff, 151-167, 450; 21

U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 CFR 2.17, 2.51, and 371.2(c).

Sec. 319.37-2 [Amended]

2. In Sec. 319.37-2(a), in the table, the listing for Solanum spp.

would be amended in the third column by adding the words ``; Arracacha

Virus B'' at the end of the entry, immediately before the period.

3. In Sec. 319.37-2(a), in the table, the listing for Solanum spp.

true seed would be amended in the second column by removing the words

``Canada and New Zealand'' and adding the words ``Canada, New Zealand,

and the X Region of Chile (that area of Chile between 39 deg. and

44 deg. South latitude--see Sec. 319.37-5(h))'' in their place, and in

the third column by adding the words ``, Arracacha Virus B'' at the end

of the entry, immediately before the period.

4. In Sec. 319.37-3, paragraph (a)(3) would be amended by removing

the words ``true seed of Solanum spp. (tuber bearing species only--

Section Tuberarium) from New Zealand;'', and a new paragraph (a)(17)

would be added to read as set forth below:

Sec. 319.37-3 Permits.

(a) * * *

(17) Solanum spp. true seed (tuber bearing species only--Section

Tuberarium) from New Zealand and the X Region of Chile (that area of

Chile between 39 deg. and 44 deg. South latitude--see Sec. 319.37-

5(h)).

* * * * *

5. In Sec. 319.37-5, paragraph (h) would be added to read as

follows:

Sec. 319.37-5 Special foreign inspection and certification

requirements.

* * * * *

(h) Any Solanum spp. true seed (tuber bearing species only--Section

Tuberarium) imported from Chile shall, at the time of arrival at the

port of first arrival in the United States, be accompanied by a

phytosanitary certificate of inspection issued in Chile by the Servicio

Agricola y Ganadero (SAG), containing additional declarations that:

(i) The Solanum spp. true seed was produced by Solanum plants that

were propagated from plantlets from the United States;

(ii) The Solanum plants that produced the Solanum spp. true seed

were grown in the Tenth (X) Region of Chile (that area of the country

between 39 deg. and 44 deg. South latitude); and

(iii) Solanum spp. tubers, plants, and true seed from each field in

which the Solanum plants that produced the Solanum spp. true seed were

grown have been sampled by SAG once per growing season at a rate to

detect 1 percent contamination with a 99 percent confidence level (500

tubers/500 plants/500 true seeds for a 30-acre field), and that the

samples have been analyzed by SAG using the nitro-cellulose membrane

(NCM) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test, with negative

results, for Andean Potato Latent Virus, Arracacha Virus B, Potato

Virus T, and the Andean Potato Calico Strain of Tobacco Ringspot Virus.

* * * * *

Done in Washington, DC, this 1st day of September 1994.

Terry L. Medley,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 94-22158 Filed 9-8-94; 8:45 am]

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