Heading into its busiest time of the year, nursery inspectors with the Oregon Department of Agriculture are facing an additional task over the next few months that is sure to increase workloads. Inspection for Phytophthora ramorum and certification that it is not present is now required for all 2,000-or-so Oregon nurseries that wish to ship plant material, whether those nurseries carry plants susceptible to P. ramorum or not. Since P. ramorum causes disease in many common ornamental plants, since the federal government earlier this month placed Oregon, Washington, and California on a control order, and since Oregon´s important nursery industry is dependent on being able to ship products out of state, the job of the ODA inspector is even more important in 2005.
"All of our inspectors have full time jobs already during the shipping season and this is like an extra full time job on top of it," says Jan Hedberg, ODA horticulturalist and field coordinator.
The task is daunting even though the marching orders are simple. ODA´s 13 nursery inspectors geographically assigned throughout the state have roughly six months to visit all of the state’s nurseries to ensure they are P. ramorum-free. That´s in addition to the regular chore of inspecting and writing of phytosanitary certificates that clear nursery stock of a myriad of traditional pests and diseases of concern for markets in other states and countries. Thanks to some proactive efforts in 2004 and with the help of 12 temporary inspectors, ODA officials are confident they can meet the June 30 federal deadline.
"Most nurseries that grow plant material susceptible to P. ramorum have already been surveyed and tested for the disease last year," says Gary McAninch, supervisor of ODA's Nursery and Christmas Tree Program. "They're already eligible for inclusion in the federal program and are certified immediately. But there are about 1,200 nurseries that do not carry host material that we need to visit."
After sudden oak death was detected in a handful of Oregon nurseries the past couple of years, ODA and the nursery industry last summer developed a mandatory inspection and certification program before Oregon companies could ship plants listed as hosts for the disease. In addition to the visual inspection of some 800 nurseries, ODA´s plant pathology laboratory in Salem processed more than 100,000 samples last year. Without the state program and all the work put in by ODA staff, the recent federal order might have buried the department and the industry. Fortunately, 2005 looks doable.
"We are set up to get all the work done without slowing down the shipping process at all," says McAninch. "That´s our plan and we are going to make it happen."
ODA has hired a dozen seasonal inspectors who this week have begun supplementing full time inspectors looking at the long list of nurseries needing their services. In addition, the lab staff of three is being doubled for now to process what could be twice as many samples as last year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture´s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is providing funds for the effort.
"We think we have enough staff to handle the federal regulation and we have already been in contact with all licensed growers in the state," says McAninch. "Our nurseries should be aware of what is going on with the new regulation. We will be getting to everyone, but the nurseries need to have some patience. We can´t do them all in the next week or so. But we will get to everyone in time to meet the federal deadline."
Nurseries with non-host material that did not need inspection last year will receive most of the attention in the next few months. ODA inspectors started checking them out in December in anticipation of the federal control order. However, the vast majority of these types of nurseries still need inspection for P. ramorum.
Nurseries with host material that were inspected and sampled last year have been mailed compliance agreements that are now being sent on to APHIS for a federal okay. Once signed by all required parties, ODA can issue the new certificates needed to allow shipping. Up to 200 nurseries with P. ramorum host material have already received this year´s certificates.
New inspections for this group of 800 nurseries will have to be done later this year in order to certify for the 2006 shipping season.
Another precaution against sudden oak death carried over from last year is ODA´s notification rule that requires all recipients of tree and shrub nursery stock coming from any out-of-state source to notify the department for possible inspection of the plants. Growers, dealers, landscapers, and plant collectors are also included in the requirement designed to locate any introductions of sudden oak death before infected plants can reach consumers or other nurseries.
With the spotlight this winter and spring on P. ramorum and sudden oak death, ODA does not want to lose sight of the other significant plant pest and disease issues that can put a halt to a nursery´s shipping plans.
"It´s just as important for us to keep an eye on other unwanted pests and diseases that could move on to other states and countries with very specific quarantine requirements," says McAninch.
All the regular inspection and certification efforts– which are funded by assessments paid through nursery licenses– are designed to make sure plant material shipped from Oregon remains the highest quality possible. The industry is still Oregon´s number one agricultural commodity with a value of $779 million. Maintaining the industry´s integrity is largely the job of the ODA nursery inspector.
"Through this huge effort to look for P. ramorum and other diseases and pests, we will be able to assure consumers that they are receiving clean and healthy plant material from Oregon," says McAninch.
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The task is daunting even though the marching orders are simple. ODA´s 13 nursery inspectors geographically assigned throughout the state have roughly six months to visit all of the state’s nurseries to ensure they are P. ramorum-free. That´s in addition to the regular chore of inspecting and writing of phytosanitary certificates that clear nursery stock of a myriad of traditional pests and diseases of concern for markets in other states and countries. Thanks to some proactive efforts in 2004 and with the help of 12 temporary inspectors, ODA officials are confident they can meet the June 30 federal deadline.
"Most nurseries that grow plant material susceptible to P. ramorum have already been surveyed and tested for the disease last year," says Gary McAninch, supervisor of ODA's Nursery and Christmas Tree Program. "They're already eligible for inclusion in the federal program and are certified immediately. But there are about 1,200 nurseries that do not carry host material that we need to visit."
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"We are set up to get all the work done without slowing down the shipping process at all," says McAninch. "That´s our plan and we are going to make it happen."
ODA has hired a dozen seasonal inspectors who this week have begun supplementing full time inspectors looking at the long list of nurseries needing their services. In addition, the lab staff of three is being doubled for now to process what could be twice as many samples as last year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture´s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is providing funds for the effort.
"We think we have enough staff to handle the federal regulation and we have already been in contact with all licensed growers in the state," says McAninch. "Our nurseries should be aware of what is going on with the new regulation. We will be getting to everyone, but the nurseries need to have some patience. We can´t do them all in the next week or so. But we will get to everyone in time to meet the federal deadline."
Nurseries with non-host material that did not need inspection last year will receive most of the attention in the next few months. ODA inspectors started checking them out in December in anticipation of the federal control order. However, the vast majority of these types of nurseries still need inspection for P. ramorum.
Nurseries with host material that were inspected and sampled last year have been mailed compliance agreements that are now being sent on to APHIS for a federal okay. Once signed by all required parties, ODA can issue the new certificates needed to allow shipping. Up to 200 nurseries with P. ramorum host material have already received this year´s certificates.
New inspections for this group of 800 nurseries will have to be done later this year in order to certify for the 2006 shipping season.
Another precaution against sudden oak death carried over from last year is ODA´s notification rule that requires all recipients of tree and shrub nursery stock coming from any out-of-state source to notify the department for possible inspection of the plants. Growers, dealers, landscapers, and plant collectors are also included in the requirement designed to locate any introductions of sudden oak death before infected plants can reach consumers or other nurseries.
With the spotlight this winter and spring on P. ramorum and sudden oak death, ODA does not want to lose sight of the other significant plant pest and disease issues that can put a halt to a nursery´s shipping plans.
"It´s just as important for us to keep an eye on other unwanted pests and diseases that could move on to other states and countries with very specific quarantine requirements," says McAninch.
All the regular inspection and certification efforts– which are funded by assessments paid through nursery licenses– are designed to make sure plant material shipped from Oregon remains the highest quality possible. The industry is still Oregon´s number one agricultural commodity with a value of $779 million. Maintaining the industry´s integrity is largely the job of the ODA nursery inspector.
"Through this huge effort to look for P. ramorum and other diseases and pests, we will be able to assure consumers that they are receiving clean and healthy plant material from Oregon," says McAninch.