Plant Biosecurity and Plant Healthy.
RV Roger Ltd is delighted to have been awarded membership of the Plant Healthy Certification Scheme. It's a scheme which aims to safeguard UK horticulture, customers and our countryside from plant pests and diseases, something we passionately believe in.
The need for plant biosecurity.
As gardeners, we are only too aware that plant life is constantly under threat from pests and diseases. Whilst as individuals that will generally be limited to concerns over aphids, blackspot on roses or brown rot on your favourite Victoria plum tree, on a wider level the dangers are immense. In 2019 the IUCN European Red List of Trees indicated that 42% of European trees are considered as having a high risk of extinction with the primary threat being from invasive species i.e. plant pests. Xylella fastidiosa is a bacterial disease which can infect over 600 plant species, and has decimated orchards, olive and almond groves in Southern Europe, and is spreading northward. The European Commission describes "Xylella as one of the most dangerous plant bacteria worldwide", and it is imperative that this disease does not enter the UK.
To counter the threat from plant pests, Defra’s Plant Biosecurity Strategy for Great Britain (2014) proposed the development of certification schemes to improve biosecurity in the UK horticultural sector. The Plant Healthy Certification Study was launched in 2019 as a response to the proposals contained in that strategy.
Aims of the Certification Scheme
- Reduce the risk of introducing / spreading destructive plant pests via plant supply chains (trade).
- Protect the horticulture industry, other cultivated plants and natural habitats.
- To easily identify businesses or organisations that grow, trade and manage plants to high standards of plant health and biosecurity
Following several months of hard work, RV Roger have been audited and have attained Plant Healthy status - an achievement we are very proud of. It doesn't end there, as we are committed to a process of continual improvement both in working practices and staff training, as part of our ongoing promotion of plant health and biosecurity.
