Section R3-4-234. Nematode Pests

A.      Definition.

“Pest” means the reniform nematode, Rotylenchulus reni- formis, and the burrowing nematode, Radopholus similis (Cobb).

B.       Areas under quarantine.

1.        Reniform nematode.

a.         The entire states of Florida and Hawaii.

b.        The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

c.         In the state of Alabama, the counties of, Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bibb,  Blount, Bullock,  Butler, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton, Choctaw, Clarke, Clay, Cleburne, Coffee, Colbert, Conecuh, Coosa, Dale, Dallas, DeKalb, Elmore, Escambia, Etowah, Fayette, Franklin, Geneva, Houston, Jackson, Jeffer- son, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lee, Limestone, Lowndes, Macon, Madison, Marengo, Marion, Mar- shall, Montgomery, Morgan, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Randolph, Saint Clair, Shelby, Sumter, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, Walker, Washington, Wil- cox, and Winston.

d.        In the state of Arkansas, the counties of Ashley, Jef- ferson, Lonoke, and Monroe.

e.         In the state of Georgia, the counties of, Baker, Banks, Barrow, Bartow, Ben Hill, Berrien, Blecke- ley, Brooks, Bulloch, Burke, Calhoun, Candler, Catoosa, Charlton, Clarke, Clay, Coffee, Colquitt, Cook, Crisp, Decatur, Dodge, Dooly, Dougherty, Early, Echols, Elbert, Emanuel, Franklin, Gordon, Grady, Hall, Hart, Houston, Jeff Davis, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Laurens, Lee, Macon, Marion, Miller, Mitchell, Montgomery, Morgan, Newton, Oconee, Peach, Pierce, Pulaski, Randolph, Rich- mond, Schley, Screven, Seminole, Stewart, Sumter, Tattnall, Taylor, Terrell, Thomas, Tift, Tombs, Turner, Twiggs, Walker, Walton, Warren, Washing- ton, Wayne, Webster, Wheeler, Wilcox, and Worth.

f.         In the state of Louisiana, the parishes of, Acadia, Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bossier, Caddo, Calcasieu, Caldwell, Catahoula, Concordia, East Baton Rouge, East Carroll, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin, Grant, Iberia, Iber- ville, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lafourche, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Orleans, Ouachita, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, Saint Bernard, Saint Charles, Saint Helena, Saint John the Baptist, Saint Landry, Saint Tammany, Tangipahoa, Tensas, Terrebonne, West Baton Rouge, West Carroll, and Winn.

g.        In the state of Mississippi, the counties of, Adams, Alcorn, Attala, Benton, Bolivar, Calhoun, Carroll, Chickasaw, Coahoma, Copiah, Covington, DeSoto, Forrest, George, Greene, Grenada, Hancock, Harri- son, Hinds, Holmes, Humphreys, Issaquena, Itawamba, Jackson, Jones, Lafayette, Lee, Leflore, Lowndes, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Monroe, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Panola, Perry, Pontotoc, Pren- tiss, Quitman, Rankin, Scott, Sharkey, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Tippah, Tunica, Union, Warren, Wash- ington, Yalobusha, and Yazoo.

h.        In the state of North Carolina, the counties of, Cum- berland, Harnett, Hoke, Johnston, Richmond, Robe- son, Sampson, and Scotland.

i.         In the state of South Carolina, the counties of, Cal- houn, Clarendon, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Ker- shaw, Lee, Marlboro, Orangeburg, Sumter, and Williamsburg.

j.         In the state of Texas, the counties of, Brazos, Burleson, Cameron, Fort Bend, Hidalgo, Lynn, Rob- ertson, Starr, Terry, Wharton, and Willacy.

2.        Burrowing nematode.

a.         The entire states of Florida and Hawaii.

b.        In the state of Texas, the counties of, Cameron and Hildago.

c.         The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

C.      Regulated Commodities.

1.        Soil;

2.        All plants with roots, including bulbs, corms, tubers, rhi- zomes, and stolons; and

3.        All plant cuttings for propagation.

D.      Exceptions to regulated commodities.

1.        Industrial sand and clay;

2.        Orchids and plants produced epiphytically, if growing exclusively in or on soil-free material such as osmunda fiber, tree fern trunk, or bark;

3.        Aquatic plants, including species normally growing in, on, or under water;

4.        Dormant bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes, and stolons for propagation, if free from roots and soil; and

5.        All fleshy roots, corms, tubers, and rhizomes for edible or medicinal purposes, if free of soil.

E.       Quarantine Restrictions.

1.        The Associate Director shall deny entry of a regulated commodity from an area under quarantine, whether moved directly from the area or by diversion or recon- signment, unless the regulated commodity is accompa- nied by an original certificate from the state of origin. The certificate shall state that the regulated commodity contained in the shipment is pest-free by one of the fol- lowing methods:

a.         The origin state determined through an annual sur- vey conducted within the 12-month period immedi- ately before shipment, that the pests do not exist on the property or in the facility used to grow the regu- lated commodity.

b.        The regulated commodity in the shipment was sam- pled two weeks before shipment, and found pest- free.

c.         The regulated commodity was protected from infes- tation of the pests by implementing all of the follow- ing steps:

i.         Propagated from clean seed or from cuttings taken 12 inches or higher above ground level,

ii.        Planted in sterilized soil or other material pre- pared or treated to ensure freedom from the pests,

iii.      Retained in a sterilized container or bed,

iv.       Placed on a sterilized bench or sterilized sup- port 18 inches or higher from the ground or floor level, and

v.        Found pest-free using a sampling method approved by the Associate Director.

2.        All regulated commodities entering Arizona shall be unloaded at destination into a quarantine holding area and held undisturbed for at least five calendar days until the Department confirms the regulated commodities are pest- free.

3.        An Arizona receiver of a regulated commodity shall establish a quarantine holding area approved by the Department that satisfies the following conditions:

a.         The floor of the holding area shall be composed of a permeable surface, such as sand or soil, and shall be free from debris, grass, and weeds;

b.        An outdoor quarantine holding area shall be at least 15 ft. from all masonry walls, property boundaries, and non-quarantined plants;

c.         The quarantine holding area shall be isolated from public access, and surrounded by a fence or other barrier; and

d.        The integrity and security of the holding area shall be maintained at all times.

4.        A cutting or bareroot regulated commodity may be placed in a container during the quarantine holding period. If the Associate Director determines that the regulated com- modity is infested with a pest, the regulated commodity, container, and soil shall be transported out-of-state or destroyed by a method approved by the Associate Direc- tor.

5.        Pesticides and other chemicals shall not be applied to a regulated commodity in a quarantine holding area except under the direction and supervision of a Department inspector.

F.       Disposition of violations.

If laboratory testing indicates a regulated commodity is infested with a pest, the regulated commodity shall be destroyed or transported out-of-state.

Historical Note

Former Rule, Quarantine Regulation 18. Amended effec- tive April 26, 1976 (Supp. 76-2). Repealed effective

December 19, 1980 (Supp. 80-6). Adopted effective

August 1, 1985 (Supp. 85-2). Section R3-1-66 renum- bered to R3-4-234 (Supp. 91-4). Section repealed; new Section made by final rulemaking at 7 A.A.R. 4434, effective September 24, 2001 (Supp. 01-3).