P. ramorum found in Georgia stream

Georgia trees threatened by disease
By April Reese Sorrow
University of Georgia

"In 2005, the Georgia Forestry Commission began monitoring selected Georgia waterways by floating rhododendron leaves in sample bags. They were looking for black spots on the leaves. They found them in 2009.

“We’ve detected the disease in a stream in Forsyth County,” she said. “But we can’t pin down the source. It was repeatedly detected since 2009, and all of the known affected areas have been fumigated. Stream water moves, so it is picking it up all over again from somewhere.”

Pathogens flushed into streams through runoff can lead experts to the source. They’re focusing on streams located in urban areas and around nurseries"

Read the whole article here

USDA funding for P. ramorum related projects

The USDA is allocating $50 million in fiscal year 2011 Farm Bill funding for projects that prevent the introduction or spread of plant pests and diseases that threaten U.S. agriculture and the environment. Of those funds, nearly $2 million will be provided to P. ramorum efforts, including survey and analysis of nurseries in 17 participating states, safeguarding nursery systems, and enhanced mitigation through monitoring the efficacy of treatments in wildland areas. To access the FY 2011 funding plan and list of projects, click here.

From the July COMTF newsletter.

Washington received some of this funding to develop biofiltration systems for reducing inoculum of Phytophthora in nursery water.

New water finds of P. ramorum in Washington

Washington had two new and one repeat P. ramorum-positive waterway detections in June. One of the new positives was detected upstream from a 2010 positive site. The positive stream feeds into the Sammamish River. The other new positive was detected in a watershed sub-basin adjoining the Sammamish River. The repeat detection site has been positive since 2010 and is in a stream that feeds into the Sammamish. While the exact source of the inoculum remains unknown, genetic evidence points toward previously positive nurseries in the associated watershed.

From the July COMTF newsletter

'Super sand' to help clean up dirty drinking water

And Phytophthora-infested water?

Contaminated water can be cleaned much more effectively using a novel, cheap material, say researchers.

Dubbed "super sand", it could become a low-cost way to purify water in the developing world.

The technology involves coating grains of sand in an oxide of a widely available material called graphite - commonly used as lead in pencils.

Read the rest of the article on BBC News

Updated USDA Regulations Effective June 27 Will Help Stem the Tide of Harmful Non-Native Plants and Pests

Revised rules will help prevent future infestations of non-native invasive insects, diseases, and plants

ARLINGTON, Va., June 15, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has finalized changes to regulations governing international trade in plants used in gardening and landscape design, which will go into effect on June 27, 2011. The Nature Conservancy has encouraged the USDA to revise these antiquated regulations to improve the ongoing efforts by the Department's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to prevent potentially invasive plants and pests from entering the country. As was recently discussed in a controversial article in the June 9th edition of Nature magazine, the threat of invasive species is easily – and wrongly – confused as the incrimination of all non-native species. In fact, the regulations finalized by USDA-APHIS have put in place new systems that allow imported materials to be judged by their invasiveness potential, not simply by their non-native status.

Originally adopted in 1918 to protect U.S. agriculture from threats like the plant disease that caused the Irish Potato famine, plant importation regulations have remained largely unchanged. During the intervening 90 years, U.S. imports of plants have mushroomed to 1.4 billion live plants and cuttings and bulbs each year. Between just 1995 and 2002, the volume of seed imported to the United States doubled.

The newly revised regulations will give APHIS needed flexibility to act quickly when it detects a potentially invasive plant or pest that is poised to enter the country and cause economic or environmental damage. The rule change, which has been in process for more than six years, will create a new category called "Not Authorized for Importation Pending Pest Risk Assessment," or NAPPRA. Under this new regulation, APHIS can quickly restrict the import of plants suspected of being invasive or carrying pests until the risks they may pose are properly understood and protective measures can be put into place.

Read more here.

Controlled burn planned in Gig Harbor area

6/3/11

Controlled burning is scheduled for June 7-8 on Wollochet Drive NW in the vicinity of Fillmore Street near Gig Harbor. The burning is necessary to prevent the spread of the plant pathogen Phytophthora ramorum, commonly known as Sudden Oak Death (SOD).

Sudden Oak Death is a serious plant disease that attacks many types of plants and trees common to the Pacific Northwest. The disease cannot be contracted by humans.

read more here on the Pierce County website

This story is also in

6/8/11 KOMO News

Road crews battling sudden oak death in Gig Harbor

6/3/11 Tacoma News Tribune

Controlled burn planned in Gig Harbor area June 7-8

Slow Sand Filtration Project

Slow Sand Filtration Project for South Carolina P. ramorum-Positive Nursery – The Clemson University Department of Plant Industry strives to protect SC's agricultural resources and natural ecosystems from the introduction and spread of invasive species such as P. ramorum. One nursery in SC has had positive detections of P. ramorum for three consecutive years. While surveys indicate that eradication efforts have eliminated P. ramorum from nursery stock, the pathogen continues to be found in the nursery's water and soil; however, perimeter forest surveys and stream baiting of the river associated with this nursery have all been negative to date.

In an effort to maintain the pathogen-free status of the natural area outside of the nursery, Clemson University researchers and the nursery owner are installing a slow sand filtration system in which all runoff will be directed into a vegetated ditch that will lead to a small retention pond for sediment dispersal. The water from the pond will be pumped into a slow sand filtration system and then drain to another vegetated area for diffusion before entering the river. Each component of the system will be monitored by Clemson University researchers. The nursery and river will continue to be tested for P. ramorum according to USDA CNP protocol and the state compliance agreement. For more information, email Christel Harden.

From the June COMTF Report