Plant Quarantine

Plant Quarantine the effort to prevent entry of a foreign pest in the country through legal restriction on the movement of plants and plant products. The word Quarantum means forty; and the isolation period of 40 days appears to have a traditional rather than a factual background. It was originally applied to the period of detention for ships arriving from countries subject to epidemic diseases. Bangladesh became a member of the Asia and Pacific Plant Protection Commission (APPPC) in 1978. The existing plant quarantine legislation, known as “Destructive Insects and Pests Rules, 1966 (Plant Quarantine), was framed as per provisions delineated under sub-section (1) of section 3, section 4A and 4D of the Destructive Insect and Pest Act, 1914 (II of 1914).

When Bangladesh came into being in 1971, it was felt that the rapid change in agricultural, geographical, economical and allied circumstances meant that these rules needed modification to meet the requirements of the agricultural and industrial sectors. With the promulgation of the National Seed Policy, there arose the necessity for revising existing rules to facilitate the easy flow of high breed seed/planting materials into the country. Consequently, 'Plant Quarantine Rules, 1995' have been framed and submitted to the Government for approval and is under active consideration at present. In Bangladesh, plant quarantine stations are functioning in the following entry points: Airports: Zia International Airport, Dhaka; Amanat Shah International Airport, Chittagong; and Osmany International Airport, Sylhet. Seaports: Chittagong Seaport; and Mongla Seaport, Khulna. Land Border Checkpost: Benapole, Jessore; Burimari, Lalmonirhat; Tamabil, Sylhet; Darshana, Chuadanga; and Hili, Dinajpur. Riverport: Narayanganj. The headquarter of the Department of Agricultural Extension (Plant Protection Wing) at Khamarbari, Dhaka, has a glass house to carry out post-entry quarantine observations. Testing of imported (plant and plant products) and exportable goods including germplasm is carried out in the glass house. [Md Abdul Latif]

See also plant protection.