Nursery updates

Thirty-three nurseries in eight states (CA, OR, WA, NC, ME, NY, PA. and IN) had P. ramorum confirmations in 2012 (up from 23 nurseries in 5 states in 2011), including 17 interstate shippers (16 in regulated states and 1 in NY) and 16 non-interstate shippers.  Sixteen of the finds (48.5%) were first time detections (CA-3, OR-7, WA-2, NY-1, IN-1) and 17 (51.5%) were repeat nurseries.  Although host plants from P. ramorum-positive nurseries were shipped to 33 states, when trace-forward investigations were conducted, positive plants were detected in only 2 non-interstate shipping nurseries (ME, PA) and four residential (ME, CA, OR, WA) locations.  Of the four positive residential finds, two (ME, CA) were traced back to a nursery in OR and two (OR, WA) were traced back to a WA nursery.

High-risk host plants comprised 85% of confirmations: Rhododendron (OR-16, WA-14, CA-7, NY-7, ME-5, PA-1, IN-1), Camellia (CA-5, OR-4, WA-1, NC-1), Viburnum (OR-7, WA-2, CA-1), Pieris (OR-4, WA-2, NY-1), and Kalmia (OR-2, NY-1).  The remaining 15% of confirmations came from:  Cornus kousa (OR-1), Gaultheria procumbens-a newly identified host-(WA-1, ME-1, OR-1), Gaultheria shallon (OR-1), Hamamelis intermedia (OR-1), Hamamelis virginiana (OR-1), Loropetalum chinense (CA-3), Magnolia grandiflora (OR-2, WA-1), Prunus laurocerasus (OR-1), Trachelospermum jasminoides (CA-1), cull pile material(OR-1), potting media(OR-3), soil substrate (OR-4, CA-2, ME-2, WA-1), and water (WA-6, NY-2).

California Nursery-Related Summary, 2012 – California had seven P. ramorum-positive nurseries in 2012, of which four were previously positive.  Five confirmations came from production facilities and two were retail.  Two of the nurseries were in the quarantine area and five were in the regulated area.  Of the 18,235 samples tested, there were 17 positive plant samples (6- Camellia, 6-Rhododendron, 1-Viburnum, 3- Loropetalum, 1- Trachelospermum).

Oregon Nursery-Related Summary, 2012 – Oregon tested 21,353 samples for P. ramorum from 542 grower sites as part of the Federal P. ramorum Certification Program in 2012. The pathogen was detected at 11 nurseries on Camellia, Hamamelis virginiana, Kalmia latifolia, Pieris, Rhododendron, and Viburnum. Delimitation surveys within the positive nurseries detected additional infections on Camellia, Cornus kousa, H. intermedia, Magnolia grandiflora, Pieris, Prunus laurocerasus, Rhododendron, and Viburnum, as well as in potting media, soil, and a cull pile. All of the nurseries underwent the USDA Confirmed Nursery Protocol. P. ramorum was also detected at a residential site on Gaultheria shallon and G. procumbens plants imported from a P. ramorum-positive nursery in Washington. This was the first time Gaultheria procumbens had ever been found positive for the pathogen. The USDA Confirmed Residential Protocol was enacted and completed at the site.

From the February COMTF Newsletter.

New article on stream monitoring

Not sure how long this will be available for download, better act soon!

Hüberli, D.; St. J. Hardy, G.E.; White, D.; Williams, N.; Burgess, T.I. 2013. Fishing for Phytophthora from Western Australia’s waterways: a distribution and diversity survey. Australasian Plant Pathology. DOI: 10.1007/s13313-012-0195-6. (Online First view)

Interview with P. ramorum

The Don’t Move Firewood campaign has posted an “Interview with Sudden Oak Death Pathogen” to its website at http://www.dontmovefirewood.org/videos/interview-sudden-oak-death-pathogen.html.  In the humorous video, Sudden Oak Death and a talk show host have an informative “talk” about what plants are affected, how to prevent the spread, and more. The video was developed by the Don’t Move Firewood campaign, along with assistance from the COMTF and funding from the USDA FS Pacific Southwest Research Station.

From the December COMTF newsletter

Two treatments for P. ramorum infested nursery soil

Research at the National Ornamental Research Site at Dominican University of California (NORS-DUC) has provided two Green technology P. ramorum soil remediation deliverables that have been approved by the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on a case by case basis for use in destroying P. ramorum in the soil substrate at contaminated nurseries.  Both technologies (steaming and the use of a biological control agent) have been successfully tested at a contaminated retail nursery and a contaminated wholesale nursery (ships interstate) in CA.  Follow-up sampling for the pathogen at both nurseries was negative, allowing each site to be released from the P. ramorum federal quarantine.

Technology transfer of these NORS-DUC successes to a wider national nursery audience is underway in a proposed multi-state Farm Bill proposal spearheaded by the Oregon Department of Agriculture, Washington State Department of Agriculture, WA State University and CA Department of Food and Agriculture.

From the December COMTF newsletter

Research - it's kid stuff

A citizen science project involving middle school students:

Bias in ecology and climate studies? How leaves shrink as they dry out is often overlooked

These kinds of projects get the public involved and provide them with a better understanding of the issues, in our case, surrounding SOD and P. ramorum.

UC: Buying local firewood helps prevent spread of pests

There is plenty of firewood left from last years ice storm in western WA. Remember to burn it where you buy it.

DAVIS, Calif. - University farm advisors here are urging consumers to use local firewood this winter to avoid moving pests and plant diseases into and around California.

Article from Capital Press

Ash Dieback in UK

This is not P. ramorum, but a new strain of an invasive fungal disease in the UK that is having a serious impact on a native tree species.

Ash dieback: Government faces possible legal action
A nursery forced to destroy 50,000 ash trees after a fungal disease was found is considering taking legal action against the government for failing to block imports sooner.

Read the article on BBC News