Nursery Quarantine Situation Unresolved

The discovery this spring of the fungus phytophthora ramorum in certain nursery stock outside the previously regulated 12-county area in California where it is known to be established in the environment has severely disrupted the industry's peak selling season for many growers and retailers.

The situation is fast changing. A number of states are still maintaining their own quarantines for the fungus. Some are draconian, barring shipment of all nursery plants from California. Others are focused more narrowly on plant species that have been scientifically proven to pose a risk.

The American Nursery & Landscape Association (ANLA) is pushing hard for a revised USDA quarantine rule, which would help to bring order and consistency to the increasingly chaotic situation. This position was stated in a recent ANLA letter to Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman, and in several meetings with USDA undersecretary Bill Hawks, and daily discussions among USDA and state officials.

ANLA expects that a new USDA quarantine order will be out by the end of April. The order will specify which plants will be quarantined and how nurseries will be tested for presence of the fungus, which has been associated with the decline and death of certain oak and tanoak species in parts of coastal California.

Other major needs include a comprehensive national survey to determine whether and where the fungus-like disease already occurs, a revised risk analysis to determine whether it is a threat in other parts of the United States, and significant funding for regularity, surveys, research and potential compensation programs.

This article was reprinted from ANLA's Update newsletter. For more information about ANLA, visit www.anla.org.