The International Seed Federation Regulated Pest List Database – an overview

​Presented by Bénédicte Lebas

​The Regulated Pest List Initiative (RPLI) of the International Seed Federation (ISF) was initiated in 2007 with the aim of facilitating the harmonization of phytosanitary requirements for seed by developing a database with information on pests that are regulated on seed of internationally traded (vegetable) crops. Information in the database is based on a thorough scientific assessment to determine whether seed is a pathway for the regulated pest following the principle of International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM). Pest management practices are provided for pests for which seeds can be a pathway, based on the knowledge and experience of the seed industry. To date, the database contains 15 crop specific pest lists with over 1,300 regulated pests, of which 995 (74%) were concluded either seed is not a pathway (47.5%) or crop is not a host of the pest (26.5%) (https://worldseed.org/our-work/phytosanitary-matters/pest-list/). Predictable international movements of seeds rely on phytosanitary measures that are scientifically justified. The overregulation of seeds hampers import and export of seeds.