BETA Your feedback will help us improve the UK Plant Health Information Portal
This year saw our third annual National Plant Health Week run from 8-14th May. National Plant Health Week is an annual designated week of action, taking place from 8 to 14 May 2023, to raise public awareness and engagement on how to keep our plants healthy. It is a collaborative effort by over 30 organisations across the UK who are committed to protect the health of our nation’s plants and trees. This year we are celebrating the importance of being a good plant health citizen.
By protecting plant health, we protect the benefits plants provide to all of us, to wildlife, the environment and our economy.
Why are our plants so important?
But like people plants can become sick from pests and diseases, and we need your help to protect them.
Globalisation in trade and increased travel means threats to plant health are increasing.
In addition, climate change, and human activities, have altered ecosystems, reducing biodiversity and creating new opportunities for pests to thrive.
Protecting the UK from plants pests and diseases is far more cost effective than dealing with plant health outbreaks.
Government and the plant sector are leading the way, and taking actions to address these threats, but we all have an important role to play in keeping our plants healthy by:
More information can be found on the Plant Health Action.org website
There are many pests and diseases that can seriously damage crops and plants in the UK. Assessing and understanding these threats is essential to informing the actions needed to protect plant health set out in Protecting Plant Health - A Plant Biosecurity Strategy for Great Britain.
As the Strategy makes clear, tackling threats to plant health is not just a matter for government; success is dependent on partnership working between all those with a role to play. To this end the Portal is a shared resource providing information about plant pests and diseases, including the assessments of risk undertaken by government and the data underpinning those assessments, with links to other sites of interest, including non-government sites, as well as information on the plant health controls and services provided by government.
Find out more about the plant pests and diseases which threaten our crops, trees, gardens and countryside.
Recorded pests
The UK Plant Health Risk Register records and rates risks to UK crops, trees, gardens and ecosystems from plant pests and pathogens.
Initiatives providing opportunities for members of the public to get involved in helping combat threats to plant health. How you can help tackle plant health risks.
Find out more about Citizen Science initiatives.