The new Plant Healthy website launched last week by the HTA provides a self-assessment tool for horticulture businesses and organisations to improve the biosecurity of sourcing systems and advance plant health management practices.

The free tool, unveiled at the association’s sell-out ‘Healthy Plants, Healthy Business’ conference, in association with APHA, is available here.

Based on the recently published Plant Health Management Standard (PHMS) initiative developed by Grown in Britain, the HTA and others, it sets out steps businesses should meet in order to protect the horticultural supply chain and the wider environment from damaging pests and diseases. Although initially developed for the UK market, the standard can be adapted for use internationally.

The tool is a self-assessment questionnaire that enables a business’s current plant health practises to be measured against the PHMS to check they are fulfilling statutory obligations, understand pest and disease threats and are setting out a plant health policy. It is intended to help businesses prepare for independent audits that will be available once the Plant Health Assurance Scheme is launched later this year.

The HTA is working with the Plant Health Biosecurity Steering Committee to set up governance structures and appoint certification bodies. Once successfully audited, businesses will receive an assurance certificate enabling them to demonstrate that robust plant health management practises are integral to their operations.

HTA horticulture manager Alistair Yeomans said: “Threats from exotic pests and diseases present a great threat to our industry and the wider countryside. As such it is essential that organisations work in a coordinated way to reduce the risk of environmental damage from these harmful organisms.”

Grown in Britain CEO Dougal Driver said improvement of biosecurity measures across the ornamental horticulture and forestry sectors was critical to protecting the UK’s forest industries and natural environment. “We believe that the plant health management standard is a fundamental part of increasing biosecurity for all,” he added.

If you didn’t get to ‘Healthy Plants, Healthy Business’, video footage from the event is available for a small charge. Click here to learn more.