• Plant Health
 /  
• Pests and Diseases

Plant Pests and Diseases

Plant Pest and Disease Programs
PPQ responds to many new introductions of plant pests to eradicate, suppress, or contain them through various programs in cooperation with state departments of agriculture and other government agencies. These may be emergency or longer term domestic programs that target a specific regulated pest.

• Pest and Disease Programs
• Report a Pest or Disease
• Federally Recognized State Managed Phytosanitary Program
• Special Needs Request
• Integrated Plant Health Information System (IPHIS)
• Survey Supply and Procurement Program

Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS) Program
PPQ ensures that new introductions of harmful plant pests and diseases are detected as soon as possible, before they have a chance to cause significant damage. To accomplish this, PPQ and its State cooperators carry out surveys for high-risk pests through a network of cooperators in the Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS) program.

Crop Biosecurity and Emergency Management
PPQ provides national leadership and coordination in crop biosecurity and emergency management. As the lead Federal agency for plant health emergencies, PPQ works cooperatively with national and international plant protection organizations; Federal, State, tribal, and local agencies; universities; industries; and private entities in developing and implementing science-based framework designed to provide optimum protection against invasive pests and diseases.

Biological Control
PPQ works with cooperators to import, screen, develop, release, implement, monitor, and transfer biological control technologies to prevent the establishment, slow the spread, and manage pests of significant economic, environmental or regulatory importance.

Honey Bees
The European honey bee is known for its importance for honey production. In addition to honey production, it is the most commonly used species as a pollinator in the United States.  Honey bees are managed and used to pollinate over 100 crops grown commercially in North America.

Plant Pest and Disease Management and Disaster Prevention Program
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) provides funding through the Plant Pest and Disease Management under the authority of the Plant Protection Act’s Section 7721. APHIS funds projects organized around specific goal areas that represent critical needs and opportunities to strengthen, prevent, detect, and mitigate invasive pests and diseases.

Request Official Confirmation of Preliminary Pest Identifications of Domestic Samples
The APHIS-PPQ Domestic Diagnostic Coordinator is responsible for coordinating the federal confirmation of species-level identifications of domestic suspect pests with preliminary identifications made by a federal or state official or competent private entity.