The US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has received $15.5 million to help stop the spread of Phytophthora ramorum that causes ‘Sudden Oak Death in the United States’. This disease has already killed large numbers of Oak and Tanoak trees in the coastal counties of California. APHIS will launch a national survey to determine if sudden oak death is causing disease symptoms on hosts and associated hosts in other parts of the US. APHIS officials will apply the funding to nursery inspection, sampling and testing and Sudden Oak Death education and extension. More than 100 nurseries in 13 states received infected plants from just one nursery in southern California. To help address the evolving disease situation in California, APHIS will provide $6.9 million of this emergency funding to the state for quarantine activities and identification of infected nurseries. The remaining $8.6 million will be used for surveys, other quarantine and regulatory enforcement, public outreach and laboratory diagnostics and testing. “FlowerTech” www.Hortiworld.com |
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