Official Pest Report
Official Pest Reports are provided by National Plant Protection Organizations within the NAPPO region. These Pest Reports are intended to comply with the International Plant Protection Convention's Standard on Pest Reporting, endorsed by the Interim Commission on Phytosanitary Measures in March 2002.
Sudden Oak Death Syndrome in California Nurseries
Sudden Oak Death Syndrome in California Nurseries
Country: United States
Title: Sudden Oak Death Syndrome in California Nurseries
Contact:
Not available
Report:
Phytophthora ramorum, the causative organism in Sudden Oak Death Syndrome (SODS), was confirmed in Monrovia Nursery in Azusa, California (Los Angeles County) on Monday, March 8, 2004. On March 12, 2004, SODS was confirmed from samples taken at Specialty Plants Inc., San Marcos, California (San Diego County). The samples at both nurseries were collected as part of the PPQ National Survey. The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Plant Pathology laboratory confirmed P. ramorum.
The nursery in Los Angeles County is a 500-acre facility which has seven other satellite nurseries throughout the United States and ships millions of plants every year all over the United States. The nursery was quarantined by CDFA on March 9, 2004. We are in the process of obtaining information about the San Diego site.
The presence of P. ramorum was unexpected because these nurseries are not in the regulated area near any source of known infection, and the area is situated in a dry climate (previous detections of the organism have been confined to areas with a wet environment).
Actions are underway for conducting trace back and trace forward of infected material as well as procedures for mitigating the effects of the disease in susceptible material are being weighed and options developed. Additional information will be forthcoming as options are more clearly defined.
Posted Date: March 17, 2004, 9 a.m.