Geranium Destruction Underway

The USDA-Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service is working with states to destroy geranium plants exposed to a bacterial pathogen in Guatamala.

USDA-Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and state cooperators are in the process of destroying geranium plants that they believe could have been exposed to the quarantine bacterial pathogen Ralstonia solanacerum race 3 biovar 2. The varieties being destroyed originated in a Goldsmith Plants cutting production greenhouse in Guatamala where the pathogen has been confirmed with water sample tests.

USDA figures indicate that more than 450 growing operations in 41 states are affected. Efforts are underway to clarify whether and when federal crop insurance may provide some financial assistance and other possible routes for assistance to growers. Growers carrying crop insurance should not destroy plants without first contacting their insurance provider, reminds Craig Regelbrugge, American Nursery & Landscape Association.

Source: ANLA Update