Washington, D.C., USA
February 10, 2026
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) invites public comment on a petition to deregulate African marigold developed using genetic engineering to produce red flowers. The public will have 60 days to review and comment on the petition and APHIS’ draft plant pest risk assessment (PPRA) and are encouraged to submit scientific data, studies, or research to support their comments.
Beginning February 11, 2026, members of the public can submit comments through April 13, 2026, on the petition and draft PPRA by going to www.regulations.gov and entering “APHIS-2026-0001” into the search field.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2026-0001]
Ball Horticultural Company: Availability of a Petition for a
Determination of Nonregulated Status and Draft Plant Pest Risk
Assessment for Red Flower Petals African Marigold (Tagetes erecta)
Event pBALL123-022-BE113.
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service has received a petition from Ball Horticultural
Company seeking a determination of nonregulated status for African
marigold (Tagetes erecta) event pBALL123-022-BE113 which has been
developed using genetic engineering to produce red flower petals. We
are making the petition and draft plant pest risk assessment available
for public review and comment.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before April
13, 2026.
Topics
Species
