21^st Meeting of the Panel on General Standards on Efficacy Evaluation

Teleconference, 2021-03-10/12

The 21^st meeting of the EPPO Panel on General Standards on Efficacy Evaluation took place by teleconference on 2021-03-10/12. The meeting focused on revisions of two General Standards and on the potential development of new General Standards in future.

Revision of Standards

A revision of EPPO Standard PP 1/181 Conduct and reporting of efficacy evaluation trials including good experimental practice was discussed. The Panel agreed on a focused revision to include parameters to describe different types of greenhouses and other protective structures used across EPPO region. This is particularly relevant for the southern EPPO countries.

The Panel also approved revision of PP 1/248 Harmonized classification and coding of the uses of plant protection products (PPP) prepared by the Expert Working Group (EWG) on Harmonization of data for PPP.

Both revisions will be sent for country consultation.

New General Standards

The Panel discussed of the need to develop new PP1 General Standards on the following topics:

Principles of extrapolation in major uses. The aim would be to describe the general principles to be considered in making extrapolations for major uses, as well as to reduce the need for trial data, while maintaining appropriate robust data sets.
New Standard (or Standards) on how to perform monitoring of the sensitivity of pests to plant protection products.

The Panel agreed to further discuss these Standards during its meeting next year.

Expert Working Groups

The Panel appreciated the effort of the two EWGs working under its guidance: the EWG on plant protection product Resistance and the EWG on Harmonization of data for plant protection products.

The Panel recommended that a third EWG to develop an Extrapolation database should meet in spring 2021 to launch its work. The Database will be developed based on extrapolation tables elaborated in the past by EPPO. Further information is available here .

Other issues

Possible EPPO work on integrated pest management (IPM) was discussed. A group of Panel experts agreed to explore the areas where EPPO can have added value for IPM. The discussion will continue next year.

The Panel approved guidance for new members of EPPO Panels and EWGs, developed to make their start in the EPPO activities smoother.