Plant disease concerns local nurserymen
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Warren County Nursery, Inc. president Michael Hobbs feels the state should take the threat to Tennessee nurseries seriously.
“This could be a real problem for us if it gets into Warren County,” Hobbs said.
The scientific name for SOD is Phytophthora ramorum. There are about 100 species of Phytophthora, which is Greek for “plant destroyer.” This type of fungal disease is commonly known as root rot or crown rot. This particular strain was first found in a tree in Mill Valley, Calif., in 1995.
According to an article in the Dec. 25 issue of the Tennessean the problem is generating federally mandated shipping restrictions on millions of plants grown in the region in an effort to curb the spread of the SOD into other areas.
But even with the restrictions, the disease has been spotted in several other states, including Tennessee, according to Tennessee State Plant Certification Administrator Gray Hawn.
“This goes back to last March,” Hawn said. “There were some materials sent in from a major supplier in California to about, I think, it was 37 states, and in Tennessee we did trace-backs and trace-forwards as to where the materials went, and also checking for the disease itself. We actually found two locations to stock that did have Phytophthora ramorum. One was in West Tennessee, one was in East Tennessee.”
The state took quick action at the time to limit the effect.
“In both those locations the materials were destroyed,” Hawn said, “and they have been re-sampled, I guess, once or twice again since then and have not found anything.”
Hawn said Tennessee took action, like many states, to restrict shipments from the affected western states. Federal officials had released a host list of plants which are affected by the disease, which includes not just oaks, but other trees and plants, such as, oddly enough, rhododendrons.
“What we did is we put in an emergency rule,” Hawn said, “which basically stopped movement of all plant materials on that host or associated host list from California. This was back in March. Then we had companies notify us if they had materials, and then we determined whether they needed to be tested or not.”
According to Hawn, the emergency order ran for around six months, but eventually the federal government enacted stricter restrictions which Hawn says has addressed most of Tennessee’s concerns. The new and stronger federal order came out on Dec. 21.
“That gives us a pretty good safety net,” Hawn said.
Though many local nurserymen are concerned, some feel the risk at present is minimal. Eric Walker, of Walker Nursery, said adopting a attitude of panic could be self-defeating, even damaging some businesses.
“McMinnville is not a major retail nursery area,” Walker said. “So public awareness around here is not a big threat. But you go into a big city, if media places hype on something like this it could destroy those nursery’s business there, even though it may not be anything.”
On the other hand, legendary Warren County nurseryman Ed Porter isn’t so optimistic.
“I’m concerned,” said Porter, “and I would like for them to be able to keep it out of Tennessee, but that would be an impossibility. It will get here eventually and it will present some problem for the nurserymen, and it will also present problems for the forest owner.”
Still, Porter said local nurserymen can help curb the spread.
“They have to be careful where they buy their material,” Porter said, “and be sure they buy from certified growers wherever they are, not just from any Tom, Dick or Harry. And if they notice any trees that are showing any symptoms, they should immediately get them out and burn them, in my opinion.”
For more information on SOD and what the federal government recommends, visit the Web site at www.aphis.usda.gov./ppq/ispm/sod/.