Country: United States

Title: Tilletia indica (Mitra) Mundkur (Karnal Bunt): APHIS Amends Regulated Areas in Maricopa and Pinal Counties in Arizona

Contact:
Lynn Evans-Goldner, National Policy Manager, at 301-851-2286.

Report:

Effective immediately, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is amending the Karnal bunt regulated areas in Maricopa and Pinal Counties in Arizona. Specifically, APHIS is reducing the regulated area Maricopa County and increasing the regulated area in Pinal County.

Following a review of available information, APHIS determined that 728 fields qualify for deregulation in accordance with the criteria listed in 7 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) § 301.89-3(f). Accordingly, restrictions are no longer required on the interstate movement of Karnal bunt regulated articles from these areas. Specifically, APHIS is removing a total of 21,355 field acres from the list of regulated areas in Maricopa County, Arizona.

In addition, APHIS is adding 4,611 field acres in the Maricopa area of Pinal County, Arizona, to the Karnal bunt regulated area in response to the detection of five Karnal bunt-positive fields. Following the completion of field surveys of Karnal bunt regulated areas, we have determined that these fields meet the criteria for regulation outlined in 7 CFR § 301.89-3(e).

APHIS is taking this regulatory action to prevent the spread of Karnal bunt from Arizona. Karnal bunt is a pest that affects wheat quality; however, APHIS regulates this plant disease because many trading partners require that U.S. wheat be certified as grown in areas free of Karnal bunt.

APHIS will follow this emergency action with the publication of an interim rule in the Federal Register. The Karnal bunt regulations can be found at the following website:

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant-health/kb

Under IPPC standards, Tilletia indica is considered to be a pest that is present in portions of Arizona and is under eradication in the United States.

Posted Date: April 23, 2018, 9 a.m.