WAC 16-350-020

Certification by the department shall not imply or be construed as any warranty of the department or their employees as to the condition of nursery stock. The following requirements and conditions shall be met to qualify for consideration of certification of nursery stock:

(1) The applicant for certification shall be responsible for the selection of the location and the proper maintenance of all plantings being grown. The applicant shall also be responsible for maintaining the identity of all nursery stock. Any planting entered into this certification program shall be kept in a thrifty growing condition and actively managed for plant pests.

(2) Trees may be registered for certification as rootstock, interstock, and scion sources for the propagation of Washington certified nursery stock when inspected, tested, and found to be discernibly free from targeted viruses and having trueness to type, in accordance with the procedures prescribed in this chapter.

(3) No budding, grafting, or top-working of registered G2 and G3 trees in a scion block, seed block, or stool bed shall be permitted without prior permission from the department. Use of a certified G2 and G3 nursery stock (from another nursery) for scionwood shall only be allowed upon receiving permission from the department and shall be subject to departmental supervision.

(4) Registered scion and seed blocks will be maintained with insect management appropriate to mitigate risk of insect vectored viruses and virus-like organisms. Monitoring for insect vectors will occur during the growing season using best management practices defined by Washington State University. When presence of insect vectors is detected, insecticides and deterrents shall be employed to cover potential vector activity periods.

(5) Any plant found to be infected by a targeted virus and officially confirmed by the department, or in root or foliar contact with a confirmed infected plant, shall be removed immediately from any planting and destroyed after notification is provided by the department. For scion blocks, if a tree identified to be infected with a targeted pathogen remains into the following growing season, the department may decertify adjacent and nearby plants within the same block. The distance to which decertification occurs is dependent upon the risk factors of pathogen spread, but shall not be less than 10 feet. For stool beds, if an infected plant is present the following growing season, all plants growing within 10 feet of the infected plant will not be certified. Decertified plants may be recertified if department-approved corrective action is taken.

(6) Prior to planting, all registered plant growing areas and their contiguous border areas of not less than 10 feet, shall be tested for the presence of soil-inhabiting nematodes known to transmit any of the targeted viruses. Growing areas found free of nematode vectors will not require chemical fumigation. Growing areas found infested with nematode vectors are required to be fumigated in accordance with the rates and practices recommended by Washington State University. The growing areas will then be retested. Such tests and treatments shall be carried out under the supervision of the department.

(7) Applicants shall be responsible for maintaining trueness to type of certified G4 nursery stock produced from registered G2 and G3 plants. The applicant shall develop a written program, in cooperation with the department, so as to provide for monitoring of each cultivar for trueness to type. Trees found to be off-type shall be removed.

(8) The applicant must maintain, and when requested, provide to the department at no cost, the following records for all registered G2 and G3 nursery stock in this program for a minimum of 10 years:

(a) Records indicating the Latin name, variety or cultivar, rootstock, origin, date of introduction of the G1 or G2 plant materials to the facility, date of propagation in the registered G2 or G3 block, and field location including nursery row and block;

(b) Records of sale and copies of all phytosanitary certificates issued; and

(c) Maps of the facility or nursery indicating the growing areas and a detailed inventory for the registered G2 and G3 plants.