May
14, 2004
Phytophthora
ramorum (a.k.a. SOD)
Obviously, the find of SOD at Monrovia-Azusa was a
shock to everyone in the country since Monrovia is such an outstanding grower
of quality plants and trees. In some
ways the find is a testimony to the diligence of California Agriculture
inspectors. This find was discovered on
the continuous inspections done within the state.
As many growers know, shipping Agricultural
products into California is extremely and annoyingly strict - but for a good
reason. Agriculture in California and
especially in the fertile Central Valley is incredibly huge and diverse. Although we have honestly not always
welcomed the strict agricultural laws and rules, we understand, welcome and honor
the purpose behind them. We want to ship
disease and pest free products while protecting the vast diversity of
agriculture in California,.
The USDA quarantine of California nurseries was a
necessary move to eliminate concerns from everyone. It forbid shipping outside the state until each nursery has been
thoroughly tested and declared clean.
We welcome that quarantine. See: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/ispm/sod/pdf_files/sodorder4-22-04signed.pdf
L.E.
Cooke SOD-Free Nursery Stock Program
Since we ship to the entire country and Canada, the
L.E. Cooke Co has been pro-active in making sure we are disease and pest
free. We were one of the first
nurseries to be inspected for SOD and became one of the first to participate in
the USDA SOD-Free Nursery Stock Program in 2002. As soon as this year’s firestorm of concern over the original two
finds in Southern California came about, we requested again a complete inspection
of all our facilities. Trust me, they
were looking much, much closer. We
passed this second inspection headed by an inspector trained by USDA.
The L.E. Cooke Co has now been inspected a third
time with USDA inspectors using the newly revised USDA Inspection Protocol and
Quarantine Standard for California (http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/ispm/sod/survey.html).
These very thorough inspections included Elisa and PCR tests, not just visual
observations.
We are confident SOD would not and will not be
found in our nursery because of environmental factors and nursery
practices. First, most scientists
believe that the desert-like climate on the floor of this Central Valley will
not support the Phytophthora ramorum.
If it were not for the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the east that captures
the snow and replenishes the ground water, we would be in a desert. Of course the scientists were surprised to
find it at Monrovia-Azusa so we will take no chances in case they are wrong in
their theories.
We grow in native soil. This soil is fumigated.
We do not bring in organic soil amendments such as canning mulches,
compost or forest products for our field production. Those amendments may be a source of trouble for those nurseries
who run canning operations. We add
organics back to our soil from growing cover crops of corn (for cattle) and
plowing the full stocks back in before fumigation.
Our propagation and budding/grafting come from our
own proven trees. We have over 21,000
trees and shrubs in over 65 acres of scion wood orchards. These have been
inspected annually and many tested annually as part of the strict virus
certification programs we have been participating in since the early 1990’s.
Reactions
to SOD
SOD is not just a California problem. California first recognized the effects of
SOD and unfortunately gave it its headline catching name. California has taken a leadership role in
Phytophthora ramorum research and developing the methods to identify and find
the disease. No state has done a more
thorough job of surveying nurseries and forests. It was this ongoing inspection that discovered the SOD pathogen
at Monrovia-Azusa.
SOD is not just a California problem. Prior to spring of 2004, only the States of
California, Oregon, Washington and I think North Carolina had the ability to
test for and identify Phytophthora ramorum.
No other states except the three on the West Coast had made or could
make forest or nursery surveys.
Products potentially infested with Phytophthora ramorum have been
shipping to the East Coast from Europe for quite some time but no one tested
for it.
Here is what I predict the industry will see in the
not too distant future:
1) SOD is already all over
the country and has been for some time.
No one has surveyed for it, yet we know it has been shipped in from
Europe. USDA funded surveys are just
now discovering SOD in locations with products unrelated to California.
The USDA will be funding a lot more labs and
training across the country so that a survey of all states can begin. I speculate that there is a very good
likelihood that this Phytophthora is more widespread and more common but no one
knows it for lack of testing ability.
There are a lot more moist environments in the East where Phytophthora
of all kinds thrive. In time we will
know more as the USDA does its nationwide survey.
2) Further testing will
increase the list of plants or trees that will host Phytophthora
ramorum. Many of these plants will
not be affected or show little ill effect making discovery difficult.
3) There are 60 or more
other forms of Phytophthora already know in the environment. Some are much more damaging to nursery stock
production than Phytophthora ramorum, yet there are no quarantines or
restrictions since they are so widespread or naturally occurring in the
environment. Remember, SOD has a name
that makes good headlines but so far has proven to be very minor in the scope
of damage it causes. Most hosts are not
killed by the bacteria which is why it is so hard to detect.
Unfortunate
and Damaging Reactions
Each State has reacted to the SOD news in different
fashions. A few reacted harshly while
others took more prudent actions. I
suspect some election year politics come into play over some of the
actions.
States cannot take the new position of “Guilty
until proven innocent”. All APHIS
protocols in the past have worked on the foundation of “Innocent until proven
guilty” in regards to quarantines on any plant stock from anywhere in the
world. If this foundational shift
occurs, no one will be able to afford to ship anywhere since there are not
enough labs, trained technicians or funds to test every crop from every grower
in every state and country. States need
to be careful what they wish for because it will eventually bite back. Those states requiring a total quarantine on
nursery stock from California until every product is tested would not like the
same requirements enforced on them.
Calmer
Heads Should Prevail
By the time next bareroot season arrives in winter,
the dust should have settled and hopefully the states will have stabilized
their entry requirements. I am sure we
all will all have added another set of paperwork to our daily jobs. Until then, the L.E. Cooke Co will continue
to use safe nursery practices to prevent the disease from entering our
production facilities and have the testing done to prove it is not here.
If you have any concerns, either myself of my
brother-in-law, David Cox would welcome discussing them with you. David sits on several research committees
and currently is participating in the regular conference calls with CDFA, USDA
and major growers in the state of California.
Ron Ludekens
Vice President
L.E. Cooke Co