Plant Protection and Quarantine

Last Modified: July 25, 2024

Close-up of woman wearing blue protective gloves holding a slug.

APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) safeguards our Nation's crops and forests against the entry, establishment, and spread of economically and environmentally significant pests. In doing so, we help U.S. agriculture thrive—across the country and around the world.

Learn more about our organization, Plant Protection Today, and the authorities under which we work.

Priorities

We help U.S. agriculture thrive in the global marketplace and work with countries around the world to promote a safe, fair, and predictable trade system.

a USDA worker investigating inside of a truck

We determine which plants and plant products can be imported and which pose a high risk and should be excluded. Our regulations and policies protect the environment and U.S. agriculture.

We provide plant health inspection and certification for plants and plant products being shipped to foreign countries. Required by importing countries, these health certificates ensure that products are pest- and disease-free.

We protect agriculture and natural resources from the risks associated with the entry, establishment, and spread of plant pests and diseases.

Balanced on an index finger the Asian longhorned beetle's face is dwarfed by its long black and white banded antenna. The distinct bluish color on the ALB's legs and feet—a sign of a newly emerged adult.

Trending Topics

The yellow-legged hornet was recently detected in the United States for the first time. Find out more about this destructive pest and how you can help prevent its spread.

The National Clean Plant Network protects healthy U.S. agriculture by providing "clean" plant propagative material free of targeted pathogens and pests. Learn about the program and current funding opportunities.

The Plant Pest and Disease Management and Disaster Prevention Program funds projects to strengthen, prevent, detect, and mitigate invasive plant pests and diseases.

Want to bring plants or plant products into the United States? Learn about APHIS regulations so you can import your products safely and legally.

The National Detector Dog Training Center trains specially selected dogs and their handlers to safeguard America’s agricultural and natural resources from harmful pests. Learn more about detector dogs.

PPQ scientists monitor data from around the world and throughout the country to uncover pathways and develop strategies to both exclude pests before they arrive at our shores and to stop or limit their movement if they enter the country.

Latest Updates

11/20/24

APHIS Establishes and Expands Fruit Fly Quarantine Areas in California

11/19/24

APHIS Amends Mexican Fruit Fly Quarantine Areas in Texas

11/06/24

USDA Seeks Public Comment on the Importation of Orchid Plants for Planting in Approved Growing Media from Germany and the Netherlands into the United States

11/05/24

APHIS Expands the Citrus Greening (Huanglongbing) Quarantined Area in California

10/31/24

Deadline Extended: APHIS Publishes Pest Risk Assessment for Importation of Lemon, Grapefruit, Mandarin and Sweet Orange from Botswana into the United States