California Citrus Quality Council: China Protocol and Phytophthora GAPs

The California Citrus Quality Council (CCQC) wants to remind growers and packinghouses that Chinese regulators are requiring additional mitigation measures and documentation for citrus being exported from Tulare County. The required documents are listed below. Please visit the CCQC website to download these documents and guides or contact Jim Cranney at (530) 885-1894 or via e-mail at jcranney@ccqc.org if you have questions or need additional information.

1. Standard Operating Procedures for growers – Growers who plans to ship fruit to China should sign the SOP document along with the packinghouse person who is responsible for grove compliance. Signed SOPs must be on file at packinghouses for review if asked by USDA/APHIS representatives.
2. Affirmation Letter for Packinghouses – Packinghouses must sign the attached affirmation letter indicatingthat if they ship fruit to China they agree to comply with all measures in the China protocol.  By signing the document, packinghouses affirm that they understand the protocol and will comply.
3. ChinaPhytophthora Monitoring Record – each lot that will be destined for export to China must be monitored for Phytophthora symptoms. Use of the Phytophthora Monitoring Record document is not mandatory, but records must be kept on monitoring. This document is a template that can be changed to suit each individual grower or packinghouse. The format is not important, but the records must be maintained to be incompliance.
4. Incubation Sampling Guide – This document provides a chart that tells packinghouses how much fruit to incubate by size of grove.
5. Phytophthora Management Document (GAPs) – This document provides detailed information on how to control Phytophthora (Good Agricultural Practices) and monitor for Phytophthora symptoms and includes monitoring and sampling guidelines.

Please note that all fruit grown in Tulare County is subject to the Tulare County protocol. That means packinghouses outside of Tulare County must meet the Tulare County protocol if they pack fruit from said County. For Tulare County incubation assays, if additional identification is needed diseased fruit can be brought to the NAVEK lab.

Also note, treatment of a registered copper fungicide is mandatory for citrus exports to China. Applications must be made between October 15 and November 30. Copper applications can also be applied in mixtures with approved alternatives. Additional applications of copper or alternative fungicides will be based on environmental conditions and will be communicated by CCM and CCQC in January.