Alexandria, Virginia, USA
July 22, 2021

Through funding from USDA's Market Access Program, ASTA developed a Pest Database for Seeds (PeDS), which is now live and functional for searching for pest or host and scientific or common names.

This database currently contains technical/scientific information on over 400 pests (primarily seed and plant pathogens) that have impacted the international movement of seed. Whenever a pest of concern is identified and may disrupt international seed movement, ASTA conducts a thorough literature search to collect technical information on its relationship to the seed. This information includes: whether seed can be a pathway for its introduction and establishment into new environments; geographical distribution; epidemiology; availability of seed health testing methodologies and seed treatments; and more. ASTA uses this information to work with USDA and other partners to encourage countries to remove technically-unjustified phytosanitary regulatory requirements.

ASTA will host a virtual training later this summer. Be on the lookout for an invitation soon. In the meantime, go to http://phytodatabase.org/ to test it out and let us know what you think!

Website: http://www.betterseed.org/

Published: July 22, 2021