Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 9, September, 2024
SECTION I.
PUBLIC NUISANCE DECLARED. The following plant diseases, insect pests and
noxious weeds, under the provisions of the Arkansas Plant Act (AC. A. '
2-16-201 et seq) are hereby
declared to be a public nuisance, including anything infected, infested or
contaminated therewith. The extent to which these plant diseases, insect pests
and noxious weeds are regulated is covered in this and other Plant Board
circulars. Italicized pests are intent of horticulture inspections.
A.
Plant Disease Pests Listed
1.
Chestnut blight (chestnut
and chinquapin)
2.
Phony
peach, peach mosaic and peach rosette
3. Fusiform and other gall rusts of
pines
4. Texas root rot (cotton and
other plants)
5.
Oak wilt
(oak, chestnut and other trees and shrubs)
6.
Cedar-apple
rust
7.
Fire
blight (pear, apple and other plants)
8.
Root knot
nematode
9.
Soybean cyst nematode
10.
Foliar nematodes (Aphelenchoides besseyi and
others)
11.
Crown
gall and other infectious galls
12.
Hairy root of apple and
rose
13.
Bacterial spot of peach
14.
Strawberry
dwarf
15.
Red
stele of strawberry
16.
Virus diseases on horticultural crops
17.
Strawberry yellows
(genetic)
18.
Infectious cankers
19.
Bacterial spot of tomato
20.
Alternaria and septoria leaf
spots of tomato
21.
Late blight of tomato
22.
Camellia petal
blight
23.
Azalea
petal blight
24. Hoja
blanca disease of rice
25.
Internal cork of sweet potato
26.
Black rot of sweet
potato
27.
Stem
rot of sweet potato
28.
Anthracnose on various host plants
29.
Pink root of
onion
30. Sting
nematode
31.
Blights and
leaf spots damaging to plants
32.
Collar rot
33.
Dutch Elm
disease
34.
Phloem necrosis
35.
Bud rot on strawberries
36.
Fusarium wilt of tomatoes (all
races)
37.
Blueberry nursery stock diseases
38.
Pinew ood
nematode
39. Blackleg of
rape
40.
Rose
Rossette
B.
Insect Pests Listed1. Pink
bollworm (cotton and okra)
2.
Sweet Potato weevil
3. Fruit flies (fruit and vegetable) does not
apply to Drosophila
4. Khapra
beetle and other stored grain insects
5. Bruchids and other pest of seeds (seeds of
crops and other plants)
6.
Japanese Beetle (trees, fruits, vegetables and other
plants)
7.
Gypsy
and Browntail moths and other leaf-feeding insects (trees, shrubs and other
plants)
8.
Fire
ant, Argentine ant, carpenter ant and other injurious ants
9.
Vegetable
weevil
10.
White-fringed beetle
11.
European chafer
12.
Termites
13. Powderpost
beetles
14.
San Jose scale
and other scale insects
15.
Wooly Aphis
16.
White flies
17.
Strawberry crown
borer
18.
Pine
tip moth and other insects attacking pine shoots
19. Oriental fruit moth
20.
Borers of all
kinds
21.
European red mite and other spider mites
22.
Bagworms and other leaf-eating
insects
23.
Thrips
24.
Aphids
25. Harlequin
bugs
26. Roaches and other
household insect pests
27.
Elm leaf beetle
28. Cereal
leaf beetle
29. Southern pine
beetle
30.
Brown garden
snail, or any other plant destroying snail
31. Asian Ambrosia Beetle
C.
Noxious Weeds
Listed1. Field bindweed
(Convolvulus arvenis)
2.
Nut grass (Cyperus
rotundus)
3.
Wild
onion and/or wild garlic (Allium spp.)
4. Johnson grass (Sorghum
halapense)
5. Dodder
(Cuscuta spp.)
6.
Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon)
7. Cheat or Chess (Bromus secalinus)
and/or (Bromus commutatus)
8. Darnel (Lolium
temulentum)
9. Corncockle
(Agrostemma githago)
10. Horsenettle (Solanum
carolinense)
11. Purple
nightshade (Solanum elaeagnifolium)
12. Buckhorn plantain (Plantago
lanceolata)
13. Bracted
plantain (Plantago aristata)
14.
Rumex spp.
15. Blueweed (Helianthus
ciliaris)
16. Morning Glory
(Ipomea spp.)
17.
Hedge Bindweed (C. sepium)
18. Red rice (Oryza sativa
var.)
19. Curly indigo
(Aeschynomene indica)
20. Tall indigo or coffee bean
(Sesbania exaltata)
21. Giant foxtail (Setaria
faberi)
22. Witchweed
(Striga spp.)
23.
Crotalaria (Crotalaria spp.)
24. Cocklebur (Xanthium
spp.)
25. Moonflower
(Calonyction muricatum)
26. Alligatorweed (Alternanthera
spp.)
27. Balloonvine
(Cardiospermum halicacabum)
28. Itchgrass (Rottboellia
exaltata)
29. Thistle
(Carduus, Cirsium, Onopordum, Silybum, Scolymus, Salsola and other
genera)
30. Serrated Tussock
(Nassella trichotoma)
31.
Purple Loosestrife
(Lythrum salicaria)
32. Barnyardgrass (Echinochloa
crusgalli)
33. Water
Hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes, E. azurea)
34. Japanese Blood Grass (Imperata
cylindrica)
35. Tropical
Soda Apple
(Solanum viarum)
Any foreign insect, plant disease or weed which may be brought
into Arkansas and whose habits and injuriousness under the conditions of
agriculture in Arkansas are unknown, is regarded as dangerous and is declared
to be a public nuisance.
PROHIBITED PLANT LIST
Plants contained on the following list present such a danger to
the natural ecosystems in the state that they are hereby declared prohibited.
No plant, seed or any reproductive structure may be sold or utilized in
plantings in Arkansas.
1. Purple
Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
2.
Giant salvinia (Salvinia molesta)
3. Water Hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes, E.
azurea)
4. Japanese Blood Grass
(Imperata cylindrica)
SECTION VI.
Regulations Governing the
Movement of Sweet Potatoes into the State from Areas Infested or Suspected of
Being Infested with Sweet Potato Weevil.
A. Sweet potatoes, or plants or vines
thereof, which have been grown or stored in counties or parishes now or
hereafter known to be infested with the sweet potato weevil, must not be
transported into or stored, used, or distributed within the state of Arkansas,
except as follows:
1. Sweet potatoes must be
moved only to consignee who holds a valid permit (issued on request) from the
Arkansas State Plant Board, authorizing said consignee to receive shipments of
fumigated potatoes between July 1 and January 31 of each year.
2. Sweet potatoes must be fumigated with
methyl bromide immediately prior to shipment in a manner approved by the
Director of the Arkansas State Plant Board, (a) Only sweet potatoes which have
been inspected and found apparently free of weevils will be eligible for
fumigation, (b) Fumigation certificates signed by an authorized plant
quarantine official, showing number of bushels, car number, dosage, time of
exposure, temperature, name and address of consignor and consignee and any
other information required by the Director, must be mailed to the Plant Board
at Little Rock when the shipment is made, (c) Duplicate copy of certificate
must be attached to waybill, or be in possession of the driver of vehicle, (d)
Each container in the shipment must bear an official fumigation tag. (e) Sweet
potatoes must be moved into Arkansas immediately after fumigation.
3. Permit-holder (consignee) must notify the
Plant Board, Little Rock, immediately on arrival of each shipment. With said
notification, permit-holder must remit to the Plant Board a one-cent fee for
each bushel of sweet potatoes in said shipment.
4. Sweet potato plants or vines must not be
transported into Arkansas under any condition.
The Plant Board will inspect on arrival as many of the
fumigated shipments as possible. Should living stages of sweet potato weevil be
found in any shipment, or should it be found that any of the provisions of this
rule are not being complied with, the Director may invalidate any or all
permits issued under this rule. The Director may cause to be destroyed,
refumigated or removed from the state, any shipment in which live stages of the
weevil are found.
B.
Exception for Canning Plants.
Sweet potatoes fumigated as described in Paragraphs 2 and 3 may be
brought to canning plants for immediate canning at any time, provided culls and
refuse are sterilized at the plant.
"Unfumigated sweet potatoes may be brought to canneries at any
time provided the canner and broker or hauler has a signed Compliance Agreement
on file with the Plant Board binding him to the following:
1. Special permission shall be obtained from
the Director of the Arkansas State Plant Board before bringing weevil-area
potatoes into the state. Permission shall be restricted to the following area
and purpose:
a.
Area - That
section of Northwest Arkansas included in the following counties: Baxter,
Benton, Boone, Carroll, Cleburne, Conway, Crawford, Faulkner, Franklin, Fulton,
Independence, Izard, Jackson, Johnson, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Newton, Pope,
Pulaski, Randolph, Searcy, Sebastian, Sharp, Stone, Van Buren, Washington and
White. Prohibited elsewhere in the state.
b.
Purpose - Immediate canning
only. Seed, bedding, table use, etc., prohibited, entire state.
2. Each load shall be accompanied
by an official certificate of the state of origin showing apparent freedom from
weevils.
3. Each load shall be
officially sealed by the originating inspector and remain sealed until opened
for canning.
4. Certificates and
seals from each load shall be kept by cannery and surrendered to inspector upon
request.
5. If shipped by rail at
any time or truck between January 1 and July 1, certificates must show
treatment of load with a pesticide recommended and registered for such
use.
6. Shipment must be in tight
rail cars or van-type trucks with vents screened. Tarpaulin-covered loads will
not be accepted.
7. Potatoes must
be canned immediately upon arrival. In emergency cases potatoes may be unloaded
and stored for not more than 48 hours in such a way that weevils, if present,
cannot escape and cause infestation.
8. No potatoes may be carried away from
canning plant, and all must be canned except culls.
9. Culls, wastes and cleanings must be:
a. Processed through lye vat at regular plant
speed and temperature and flushed down drain, or
b. Collected in a tank covered with hot lye
solution (Minimum 185 degrees F.), allowed to soak for 1 hour, then either
buried 2 feet deep, flushed down drain, or fed to livestock
immediately.
10. After
canning, plant premises must be thoroughly cleaned and sprayed with an
insecticide to kill any live weevils thereon.
11. Trucks and rail cars after unloading and
before leaving premises must also be cleaned and sprayed as in number 10 above,
and cleanings disposed of as in number 9 above.
12. Plant Board inspectors will make
periodical, unannounced inspections to check for conformity with all items
stipulated herein, but will not necessarily remain through entire canning
process each visit.
13. Inspectors
will recommend cancellation of this Agreement and withdrawal of the Director's
special permission if serious discrepancies with the stipulations are
noted.
14. An inspection fee of 5
cents per bushel will be charged, based upon duplicate load certificates, which
are received by the Plant Board office from the out-of-state inspector. These
certificates and seal numbers must match those kept by the canner from each
load and surrendered to Plant Board inspector."
C. Sweet potatoes grown in counties or
parishes which are free or which have been declared free of potato weevil will
be admitted into Arkansas without fumigation, provided each load is accompanied
by a certificate of the quarantine officer of the state where grown, giving
name and address of grower, number of bushels in the load, destination of load,
name of county or parish where grown, and certifying that said county or parish
is free of sweet potato weevil, and the date issued.
SECTION VII.
MISCELLANEOUS
REGULATIONS
1. Sale or Transportation
of Seed Irish Potatoes is prohibited within the state (Irish potatoes which are
represented orally or in writing as being suitable for planting purposes)
unless the potatoes have been inspected in the field and certified as true to
variety and free from disease, by the official certification agency of the
state in which they were grown; and the official certification tag of said
state must be sealed to each bag or container thereof.
Use of Misleading Words Prohibited. Seed Irish
potatoes must not be accompanied by tags, labels, or other devices on which are
used the words "Inspected or Certified" or on which are used any other word or
words which might suggest a similar meaning, unless said potatoes have in fact
been certified as to freedom from disease and as to varietal purity by the
official certification agency of the state in which they were
grown.
2.
Texas
(Phymatotrichum) Root Rot. Nursery stock, strawberry plants and
vegetable plants grown or originating in the counties of Miller and Little
River, and in any other counties in which the phymatotrichum root disease is
hereafter found to exist, which are affected with said disease, shall be
prohibited from moving into any other portion of the state or into other
states.
3. The Director may refuse
further services of the Plant Board to anyone who owes the Board for fees,
until the fees are paid or until satisfactory arrangements are made for paying
them.
4.
Phytosanitary
Certificates. For sampling, inspecting or analyzing, and issuing
phytosanitary certificates for soybeans, rice, small grains, cottonseed,
cottonseed meal, soybean meal, lumber and other plant products or plants, the
charge will be $15.00 per certificate.
5.
Plant Destroying Snails. The
Brown Garden Snail,
Helix aspersa, has been reported in Arizona,
California, Florida, Louisiana and South Carolina. It is a plant feeder and
very destructive to many host plants. It is readily transported on infested
nursery stock. The shipment, therefore, of nursery stock into Arkansas from
infested states, or from any state hereafter found infested with this or any
other snail know to be a serious plant pest, shall be subject to the following:
A. Nurseries in infested states who desire to
ship plants into Arkansas shall file certificates of inspection with the
Arkansas State Plant Board. As part of such certificate, or attached to it,
there shall be a declaration signed by the state's regulatory officer stating
that the nursery concerned has been inspected and found free of the Brown
Garden Snail,
Helix aspersa.
Amended certificates of inspection will also be accepted for
nurseries which ship only:
1) Bare
root nursery stock free of soil.
2)
Cured bulbs free of soil.
3)
Nursery stock from tightly enclosed greenhouses or other structures where
official inspections are made to assure the enclosures are free of snails.
A valid copy of the state of origin certificate of inspection
shall be attached to each package, box or bundle of nursery stock shipped into
Arkansas, or to the invoice accompanying each bulk delivery of balled and
burlapped or container-grown stock.
B. Infested nurseries may ship plants into
Arkansas under either of the following conditions:
1)
Fumigation. Certificates and
invoices shall accompany each load showing that the stock has been fumigated in
a gastight chamber with methyl bromide, 2 1/2 pounds per 1,000 cubic feet, 70
degrees F. or above, for 2 hours; or with HCN, 25cc per 100 cubic feet, 50 to
85 degrees F., for 1 hour.
2)
Quarantine Area Certification. Nursery stock will be accepted if
accompanied by certificates and invoices showing that the plants have, under
official supervision, been:
a. Held in a
separate, designated quarantine area for at least 30 days.
b. Treated intermittently with baits and
sprays.
c. Inspected and
reinspected for Brown Garden Snail.
d. Completely free of harmful snails for at
least 30 days.
C. Nursery stock or plant material arriving
in Arkansas from an infested state without proper certification will be held
under Stop-Sale Order until properly certified, or returned to the shipper at
his expense, unless found infested with living Brown Garden Snails or other
snails known to be serious plant pests.
D. Nursery stock or plant material found
infested with Brown Garden Snail or any other dangerous plant pest will be
destroyed, or fumigated at the shipper's expense,provided the infestation can
be eliminated without hazard of spread of the pest during treatment.
6.
Fusarium Wilt of
Tomatoes. A new race of the tomato fusarium wilt organism
(Fusarium oxysporum f. sp
lycopersici race 2) has
been found in the pink tomato section of Southeast Arkansas. This organism is a
serious threat to commercial tomato production anywhere in the state. To
prevent the spread of Race 2, or other new races which may hereafter develop,
the following regulations shall apply to all producers of vegetable plants in
Bradley and Drew Counties, and in every county where Race 2 or other new races
may subsequently be found.
The movement of tomato plants within or from the above
described regulated area is prohibited, except when such plants are produced
under inspection of the State Plant Board and in compliance with the following
special regulations:
A. Soil used in
beds, pots, cups, flats, pot-beds and cold frames for plant production, or to
rest containers upon, shall be obtained from areas where tomatoes have not been
grown in the past.
B. Soil and/or
soil-media mixtures shall be decontaminated by one of the following methods
before use in plant production:
1) Methyl
Bromide fumigation (4 pounds per 100 cubic feet of soil for a minimum of 24
hours at 40 degrees F. or above).
a. Bulk soil
shall be confined on a concrete slab or sheet of polyethylene plastic over the
ground surface during fumigation.
b. Bulk soil shall be no more than 12 inches
deep to assure gas penetration.
c.
Holes shall be punched in the soil at 12 inch centers to facilitate gas
penetration.
d. Soil in pot-beds,
coldframes and holding areas shall be loosened as deep as practicable to assure
gas penetration.
e. Fumigation
covers shall be air tight (no holes).
f Special care shall be taken when removing
the cover to prevent recontamination with untreated soil.
2) Heat sterilization shall be acceptable if
performed according to Extension Service recommendations (Misc. Publication 64,
"Control of Disease and Insect Pests in the Plant Bed").
3) Artificial media (new or unused peat,
perlite, vermiculite, etc.) may be used without decontamination if reasonable
precautions are taken against contamination with untreated soil (i.e., mixing
on sterilized surfaces, etc.).
C. All flats, boxes, pots, cups, tools, etc.,
which have been used in plant production or which have come in contact with
untreated soil must be decontaminated, preferably by Methyl Bromide
fumigation.
D. Plant house interior
surfaces must be decontaminated (all surfaces of benches, timber supports,
heating and ventilating equipment, walls, ceilings, floors, etc.).
1) This shall also apply to surfaces of
coldframes, pot-beds and holding areas.
2) An effective decontaminant spray or drench
may be prepared with 50% commercial Clorox, or with 1 gallon commercial
formaldehyde to 18 gallons water. After using either material, ventilate until
fumes can no longer be detected before growing plants (a few hours to several
days for Clorox, longer for formaldehyde, depending upon conditions).
E. Direct traffic from tomato
fields to plant production areas must not be permitted.
1) Wash hands with soap and decontaminate
shoes with 50% Clorox before entering the plant house, coldframes or holding
areas.
F. Locally grown
seed shall not be planted.
1) A tag or invoice
showing purchase of seed from an established seed firm must accompany
application for inspection.
2) In
cases of dire necessity locally grown seed may be used if hot water treated
(122 degrees F. for 25 minutes). Advance permission must be obtained from
Director of Plant Industry Division.
G. These regulations shall apply in addition
to and do not replace any other regulations now given in "Regulations On Plant
Diseases and Pests" (Circular 11).
7.
Blueberry Nursery Stock. The
production of blueberries is a new and growing industry in Arkansas. Diseases
such as red ringspot, necrotic ringspot, stunt and phytophthora root rot pose a
serious threat to the blueberry industry, especially in its developing stages.
To prevent the spread of these and other diseases by blueberry nursery stock
the following regulations shall apply to all blueberry plants produced in
Arkansas for sale.
A.
Mother Blocks.
All blueberry plants produced in Arkansas shall be grown from cuttings
taken from mother blocks which have been established as prescribed by these
regulations and kept under rigid inspection and rouging by the State Plant
Board. Mother blocks shall be established by one of the following methods:
1) Transplanting or clearly designating and
setting apart plants which have been inspected and found to be free of serious
diseases, including the above, or
2) Setting plants which have been indexed or
otherwise officially determined to be free of harmful diseases, or
3) Setting plants which have been produced in
an approved official certification program in Arkansas or another state,
or
4) Setting plants which have
been produced from cuttings from an officially approved mother block
established and maintained as set out in these regulations.
5)
New Varieties. When it
appears advantageous to the Arkansas blueberry industry to bring in a promising
new variety which does not qualify for entry under (a) through (d) above,
cuttings, rooted cuttings or plants may be brought into Arkansas and grown in
isolation under inspection, indexing or other testing until officially
determined to be free of harmful insects and diseases. When such official
determination has been made, said plants shall be eligible for the
establishment of mother blocks as in (a) and (b) above.
Proof of origin in the form of affidavits or sales invoices or
certification tags, shall be required for cuttings, rooted cuttings or plants
which are to be used in establishing approved mother blocks if from a source
other than the applicant nurseryman's own blocks.
B
Mother Blocks:
1) Shall not be fruited for production
purposes.
2) Shall be clearly
designated and set apart from fruiting fields and when possible located where
they will not receive drainage from fruiting fields.
3) Shall be inspected by the State Plant
Board as often as necessary and at optimum times for the detection of such
diseases as red ringspot, necrotic ringspot, other virus diseases, stunt,
phytophthora root rot, fungus cankers, crown gall, and harmful insects and
mites.
a. All obviously diseased or seriously
infested plants found in a mother block shall be removed and destroyed within
10 days of inspection.
b. Plants
suspected of being diseased or infested shall be submitted to the appropriate
department at the University of Arkansas for an official determination. Those
plants officially determined to be diseased or seriously infested shall be
removed and destroyed when such is determined to be necessary.
C.
Production of
Nursery Stock.1)
Cuttings
taken from a mother block shall be:
a.
Rooted in beds on raised benches or raised gravel to break contact with the
soil. If the bedding medium contains soil or is being reused the medium shall
be fumigated with an approved fumigant according to label directions. Heat
sterilization performed according to directions in Extension Circular 540,
"Control of Diseases and Insect Pests in the Plant Bed," shall be acceptable.
Artificial media (new peat, perlite, vermiculite, washed sand,
etc.) may be used without fumigating or heat treating if reasonable precautions
are taken against contamination.
b.
Rooted in beds located where they will not receive drainage from fruiting
fields or mother plant blocks.
2)
Rooted Cuttings. Rooted
cuttings shall be transplanted to:
a. Fields
which have been fumigated with an approved fumigant according to label
directions, or
b. Containers in
which the growing medium, if it contains soil or is being reused, has been
fumigated or heat treated as in III (a) 1 above. Artificial media (new
peat, perlite, vermiculite, washed sand, etc.) may be used without
fumigating or heat treating if reasonable precautions are taken against
contamination. Used containers shall be decontaminated by washing with 30%
clorox solution before reusing. Containers shall be placed on raised benches or
on raised gravel beds in such manner as to avoid contact of the plants or
containers with contaminated soil or water. Container blocks or field blocks
shall be located where they will not receive drainage from fruiting fields or
mother plant blocks.
3)
Nursery Stock. Blueberry nursery stock when produced as prescribed
herein may be sold as:
a. Cuttings.
b. Rooted Cuttings.
c. Field-grown plants.
d. Container-grown plants.
Proof of origin must be provided to the purchaser if the
cuttings, rooted cuttings or plants are to be used in the establishment of new
mother blocks or for the production of rooted cuttings or container-grown or
field-grown plants for sale.
D.
Application of Regulations.
These regulations shall apply in addition to and do not replace any
regulations covering nursery stock now in effect as covered by Plant Board
Circular 11, "Regulations on Plant Diseases and Pests," nor do they replace or
supersede any requirement of the Arkansas Plant Act or the Arkansas Nursery
Fraud Act.
E. Fees. The nursery
license and inspection fees described in Circular 11, Section IV shall
apply.
F.
Effective Date.
To avoid penalizing plant production by current methods while mother
blocks are being established, these regulations shall become effective in two
stages. Present plant production practices may be continued until December
31,1984, after which date all cuttings shall be taken and started as prescribed
in these regulations. After December 31, 1986 all cuttings, rooted cuttings and
plants produced in Arkansas for sale shall be produced as set forth in these
regulations.
8.
Lythrum Species (Including but not limited to Purple Loosestrife).
All Lythrum species including any hybrid cross thereof is hereby
declared to be a public nuisance and designated a noxious weed. It is
prohibited to transport, buy, sell, offer for sale, or to distribute
Lythrum species inter or intra state. The planting of
plants and/or plant parts including seed is strictly prohibited in the State of
Arkansas.
9.
Rules and
Standards For Certification of Certified Blackberry Plants. The
production of blackberry nursery stock is an important industry in Arkansas.
Diseases such as rust, anthracnose, crown gall and viruses, as well as pests
such as cane borers and nematodes pose a threat to the blackberry nursery
industry. To prevent the spread of these problems by nursery stock, the
following certification regulati shall apply to the production and sale of
certified blackberry nursery stock in Arkansas.
I.
Definitions
Board means the Arkansas State Plant Board.
Blackberry means cultivated Rubus
species and related plants that are considered blackberry
botanically.
Cane cutting is a cane section of two or more
nodes or buds (length 4-6 inches) to be transplanted to produce a plant.
Crown is the persistent (perennial) base of the
plant; the junction between canes and roots (some varieties have buds that
arise primarily from the crown).
Director means the director of the State Plant
Board or his duly appointed representative.
Hardwood cutting is taken from a mature woody stem
for the purpose of propagation.
Indicator plant means any herbaceous or woody
plant used to index or determine virus infection.
Indexing is a procedure to determine virus or
other pathogen infection by inoculation from the plant to be tested to an
indicator plant (grafted onto plant to be tested) or by any other approved
method.
Mericlones are plants clonally propagated from a
single meristem tip.
Micropropagation is plant multiplication
in vitro. Blackberry is propagated in tissue culture by
aseptic transfer of meristem tip cultures to produce Nuclear stocks.
Nodal cutting is a cane cutting with a single node
to produce a plant.
One-year-old plants means well rooted plants that
have developed during one growing season.
Primocane (succulent plants) is the current
season's growth that develops from root or basal crown buds.
Root cuttings is a root section with one or more
buds.
Softwood cutting is taken from a green, immature,
actively growing stem of a woody plant during spring or early summer for the
purpose of propagation.
Succulent plant means a small, actively growing
plant that is developing from root buds, not having passed through a dormant
period.
Virus infected (affected) means presence of a
virus (es) or yellows disease agent in a plant or plant part. The word "virus"
shall be used hereafter to include yellows disease.
Virus-like means a disorder of genetic or non transmissible
origin, or a graft-transmissible disorder resembling a virus disease, including
but not limited to diseases caused by viroids and phytoplasmas
II.
Certifying agency issuance of
certificateA. The issuance of a
certified state of Arkansas plant tag or stamp under this chapter affirms
solely that the tagged or stamped blackberry stock has been subjected to
certification standards and procedures by the department. The Board disclaims
all expressed or implied warranties, including without limitation, implied
warranties of merchantability and fitness for particular purpose, regarding all
plants, and plant materials under this chapter.
B. The Board is not responsible for disease,
genetic disorder, off-type, failure of performance, mislabeling, or otherwise,
in connection with this chapter. No grower, nursery dealer, government
official, or other person is authorized to give any expressed or implied
warranty, or to accept financial responsibility on behalf of the Plant Board
regarding this chapter.
C.
Participation in the blackberry planting stock certification program is
voluntary.
III.
Blackberry certification standards The following specific rules
constitute the requirements and standards for classes and sources of blackberry
certified stock:
Nuclear stock shall be derived from plants that
have been micropropagated, indexed, apparently free from other pests, and
evaluated in field tests for trueness-to-variety. Nuclear stock may exist as
in-vitro tissue culture plantlets or potted plants in a screened greenhouse.
Sources of plants grown as nuclear stock must be approved by the State Plant
Board.
Foundation stock is produced from Nuclear stock
and grown in a greenhouse or screenhouse to exclude insects.
Regi stered stock is produced from Foundation
stock in greenhouse, screenhouse, or field.
Certified stock is produced from Registered stock
in greenhouse, screenhouse, or field.
IV. Requirements for the production of
foundation, registered and certified blackberry stock
A. Facilities (greenhouse, screenhouse,
water, equipment, etc.) for plant production must be approved by the Board
before Foundation stock is procured by the producer.
B. Foundation stock
1. Foundation plants may be maintained
indefinitely if grown in an insect-proof facility (greenhouse), in sanitized
substrate, and indexed every three years by the United States Department of
Agriculture or other personnel approved by the Board.
2. Growers may use micro-propagation
techniques to multiply foundation plants prior to planting in a foundation
greenhouse provided the micro-propagated plants are isolated from other
non-indexed blackberry plants, and the micro-propagation facilities are
approved by the Board.
3. In
greenhouse or screenhouse, Foundation plants shall be produced in separate
sanitized containers with labeling of cultivar name and lot number (if
applicable).
4. Non-certified
Rubus species must not exist within 152 meters (500 feet) of
the perimeter of the greenhouse. Weeds that host disease of major concern must
be controlled within 152 meters (500 feet) of the perimeter of the greenhouse.
Insects that vector diseases of major concern should be controlled in isolation
areas.
5. Non-certified
Rubus species must not exist within the greenhouse or
screenhouse.
6. Blossoms shall be
removed before the blossoms open.
C. Registered stock
1. Registered plants may be maintained
indefinitely if grown in an insect-proof facility (greenhouse), in sanitized
substrate, and indexed every three years.
2. In greenhouse or screenhouse, Registered
plants shall be produced in separate sanitized containers with labeling of
cultivar name and lot number (if applicable).
3. Non-certified Rubus
species must not exist within 152 meters (500 feet) of the perimeter
of the greenhouse. Weeds that host disease of major concern must be controlled
within 152 meters (500 feet) of the perimeter of the greenhouse. Insects that
vector diseases of major concern should be controlled in isolation
area.
4. Non-certified
Rubus species must not exist within the greenhouse or
screenhouse.
5. For field
production, soil treatment is required with an approved method (ex. solid soil
fumigation with methyl bromide + chloropicrin). Weeds that host diseases of
major concern will be controlled. Insects that vector diseases of major concern
should be controlled in isolation area.
6. Non-certified Rubus
species must not exist within 152 meters (500 feet) of the perimeter
of the field used to produce certified blackberry stock. Each lot and/or
different cultivars are labeled and separated by a distance of 4.25 meters (14
feet) or a physical barrier that prevents intermingling of roots.
7. Field produced Registered stock shall not
be harvested beyond one year.
8.
Blossoms shall be removed before the blossoms open.
C. Certified stock
1. Certified plants may be maintained
indefinitely if grown in an insect-proof facility (greenhouse), in sanitized
substrate, and indexed every three years.
2. In greenhouse or screenhouse, Certified
plants shall be produced in separate sanitized containers with labeling of
cultivar name and lot number (if applicable).
3. Non-certified Rubus
species must not exist within 152 meters (500 feet) of the perimeter
of the greenhouse. Weeds that host disease of major concern must be controlled
within 152 meters (500 feet) of the perimeter of the greenhouse. Insects that
vector diseases of major concern should be controlled in isolation
area.
4. Non-certified
Rubus species must not exist within the greenhouse or
screenhouse.
5. For field
production, soil treatment is required with an approved method (ex. solid soil
fumigation with methyl bromide + chloropicrin). Weeds that host diseases of
major concern will be controlled. Insects that vector diseases of major concern
should be controlled in isolation area.
6. Non-certified Rubus
species must not exist within 152 meters (500 feet) of the perimeter
of the field used to produce certified blackberry stock. Each lot and/or
different cultivars are labeled and separated by a distance of 4.25 meters (14
feet) or a physical barrier that prevents intermingling of roots.
7. Field-produced Certified stock shall not
be harvested beyond one year.
8.
Blossoms shall be removed before blossoms open.
D. Documentation of soil treatments and use
of plant protectants shall be made available to the Board.
E. A map identifying cultivars and lots must
be provided to the Board.
V. Inspections
A. Greenhouse/Screenhouse
1. Grower will regularly inspect plants. All
plants that are symptomatic of disease will be removed and destroyed. The
grower will keep a logbook recording cultivar and number of destroyed plants
and make it available to Board inspectors.
2. Grower will inspect in and around the
greenhouse perimeters to ensure isolation standards are being met.
3. Board inspectors must inspect and approve
any greenhouse that has not been used for successful production of indexed
blackberry plants.
4. During the
production of certified plants, Board inspectors will do at least one
inspection during the growing period when plants are likely to express symptoms
of virus infection, crown and cane gall infections and other disorders. The
Board may conduct additional inspections if deemed necessary.
5. All plants that are of off-types, crown
gall infected, virus infected, or exhibiting virus-like symptoms during
inspections will be flagged by Board inspectors.
6. Grower will remove all flagged plants
immediately after inspection by the Board inspector.
Effective roguing techniques must include removing the
undesirable plant and all of its roots. B. Field
1. The grower should inspect fields regularly
during the growing season and rogue all plants with symptoms of disease, etc.
The Board should be informed if any problems are found.
2. The Board inspector will perform three
inspections of fields for certified plant production;
1) first inspection during April, 2) second
inspection during July, 3) third inspection during October. Additional
inspections may be performed if deemed necessary.
3. All plants that are of off-types, crown
gall infected, virus infected, or exhibiting virus-like symptoms during
inspections will be flagged by Board inspectors.
4. Grower will remove all flagged plants
immediately after inspection by the Board inspector. Effective roguing
techniques must include removing the undesirable plant and all of its roots as
well as all the plants and plant parts within ten feet of the undesirable
plant.
VI. Inspection standards
A. Greenhouse, General Requirements
1. Unit of certification shall be the entire
greenhouse.
2. Isolation:
Non-certified Rubus species must not exist within the
greenhouse. Non-certified Rubus species must not exist within
152 meters (500 feet) of the perimeter of the greenhouse. Weeds that host
disease of major concern must be controlled within 152 meters (500 ft) of the
perimeter of the greenhouse. Insects that vector diseases of major concern
should be controlled in isolation area.
B. Field, General Requirements
1. Unit of certification shall be the field
or a portion of field. Any portion of the field that does not meet inspection
standards may be delimited if it will not jeopardize the remainder of the
field.
2. Isolation: Non-certified
Rubus species must not exist within 152 meters (500 feet) of
the certified plants. Weeds that host diseases of major concern must be
controlled within 152 meters (500 feet) of the certified plants. Insects that
vector diseases of major concern should be controlled in isolation
area.
C. Specific
Greenhouse and Field Tolerance, maximum % of factor
|
Factor
|
Foundation Stock
|
Registered Stock
|
Certified Stock
|
|
Anthracnose
|
0
|
2.0
|
5.0
|
|
Crown and cane gall
|
0
|
0.1
|
1.0
|
|
Nematodes
|
0
|
0.05
|
0.1
|
|
Rust, systemic
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Virus diseases
|
0
|
0.05
|
0.5
|
|
Other diseases
|
0
|
0.2
|
0.5
|
|
Varietal mixture
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Root, cane or crown inhabiting
insects
|
0
|
0.05
|
0.1
|
VII.
General requirements for
plantsA. Growers may sell Foundation,
Registered or Certified stock as certified plants.
B. An official certificate will accompany
each sale of certified Blackberry plants or stock. This certificate will list
the viruses indexed and other details. Each container/plant will be labeled
with variety and certification information.
C. A complete record of the number of
certified Blackberry plant/stock sales will be maintained and made available to
the official certifying agency. The record will include (a) class, (b)
cultivar, (c) date of shipment, (d) number of plants or stock
shipped.
D. General Inspection
Standards for Plants:
1. Apparently free of
biotic and abiotic diseases, insects, and other pests.
2. True-to-variety characteristics.
3. Good leaf color and plant size.
4. Satisfactory plant size to meet the
expectations of the customer.
5.
Plants will not be shipped with non-certified plants.
VIII.
Blackberry
certification feesA. Blackberry
certification application fee. Applicant will be required to obtain a valid
Nurserymans license and pay the required fees as prescribed for the Nurseryman
category. The blackberry certification application and fee is in
addition to the Nurseryman fee. The certification fee is assessed
for the sole purpose of defraying expenses incurred in the additional
inspection and certification requirements protocol. The applicant must furnish
all information requested on the Application for Inspection Form and must allow
the inspector to take samples of plants or plant parts from any certified
planting for inspection and testing purposes. A separate application is
required and a $50.00 fee shall be paid for each cultivar/variety unit entered
for certification. Each lot or field of each cultivator shall be listed
separately on the application. Application for certification inspection for the
following year must be filed with the Arkansas State Plant Board, Post Office
Box 1069, Little Rock, Arkansas 72203 by Oct. 31, accompanied by
the appropriate fees.
B. A grower
desiring to produce certified blackberry plants as herein provided shall
establish with the Board facts evidencing sufficient experience to produce
healthy, high quality stock.
C. The
Board will remove any applicant failing to renew certification by the
designated due date of the certification program. Failure to pay fees by the
designated due date shall also result in removing the applicant from the
certification program.
D. The Board
will not accept applications from growers owing the Board for previous
services.
IX.
Certified planting stock pre-marketing, identification and grade
A. All blackberry planting stock meeting the
requirements of this chapter can be identified by the State Plant Board tag or
stamp issued under by the Board.
B.
All containers must be new and marked with the name and address of the grower,
class of certified stock, variety and lot number.
C. The quality and grading of the stock is
the responsibility of the grower.
X.
Blackberry tagging or stamping and
plant inspectionA. "Certified" stock
shall be identified with the state of Arkansas official certified blackberry
plant tag or stamp under the supervision of the Board after plants have passed
inspection.
B. Only plants meeting
Arkansas standards for blackberry plants shall be tagged or stamped.
C. All containers shall be marked with the
name and address of the grower, grade or class of stock, and variety.
XI
Application of
regulations. This certification program is strictly voluntary and these
regulations shall apply in addition to and do not replace any regulations
covering nursery stock now in effect as covered by Plant Board Circular 11,
"Regulations on Plant Diseases and Pests", nor do they replace or supersede any
requirement of the Arkansas Plant Act of 1917, A.C.A.
2-16-201 thru 214 or the
Arkansas Nursery Fraud Act of 1919, A.C.A.
2-21-101 thru 113.
11.
RULES AND REGULATIONS
FOR THE ARKANSAS BOLL WEEVIL ERADICATION PROGRAM
Section I Purpose. Pursuant to Ark. Code Ann.
§
2-16-605,
the purpose of these rules is to develop and establish procedures for the
eradication of Boll Weevil within and applying uniformly to the whole State of
Arkansas, to establish per acre annual Assessments that offset program costs,
to provide procedures for the collection of such Assessments, to specify
conditions for the movement of regulated articles, and to provide penalties for
violations of these rules.
Section
II
Declaration of Boll Weevil as a Plant Pest.
Pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-602(a),
the Boll Weevil (Anthonomus grandis
Boheman) is declared to be a plant pest and a nuisance, as is any
plant or other regulated article infested therewith or that has been exposed to
infestation and is likely to lead to additional infestation.
Section III
Definitions. For
the purpose of these rules, the following definitions shall apply:
1. " APHIS" means United States Department of
Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
2. "Arkansas Cotton Grower's Organization,
Incorporated, d/b/a Arkansas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation" means the
nonprofit organization comprised of Arkansas Cotton Growers to provide guidance
and assist in policy decisions during the eradication program, and certified by
the Plant Board pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-612.
3. "Assessment" means the amount charged to
each Cotton Grower to finance, in whole or part, a program to suppress or
eradicate the Boll Weevil in this state and calculated on a per-acre basis
pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-614(b).
4. "Boll Weevil" means
Anthonomus grandis
Boheman in any
stage of development.
5. "Boll
Weevil Eradication Program" means the program initiated under Ark. Code Ann.
§
2-16-601 et sea..
6. "Certificate" means a document issued or
authorized by the Plant Board indicating that a regulated article is not
contaminated with Boll Weevils.
7.
"Grower's Compliance Certificate" means a document issued or authorized by the
Plant Board indicating that a Cotton Grower has complied with the requirements
of these rules and the Cotton Grower's cotton may be ginned in
Arkansas.
8. "Compliance Agreement"
means a written agreement required between the Plant Board and any person
engaged in growing cotton, dealing in, or moving regulated articles wherein the
latter agrees to comply with specified provisions to prevent dissemination of
the Boll Weevil.
9. "Cotton" means
any cotton plant or cotton plant product upon which the Boll Weevil is
dependent for completion of any portion of its life cycle.
10. "Cotton Grower" means any person, other
than a cash rent landlord, who is engaged in or has as economic risk in the
business of producing, or causing cotton to be produced, for market.
11. "Eradication Zone" means a geographical
area designated by the Plant Board in which the Boll Weevil Eradication
Programs will be undertaken and managed pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-610.
12. "Exposed" means any area or location
subjected to Boll Weevil infestation.
13. "Gin Trash" means all waste material
produced during the cleaning and ginning of seed cotton. It does not include
the lint, cottonseed, or gin waste.
14. "Gin Waste" means all forms of
unmanufactured cotton fiber (including gin motes) produced at cotton gins,
other than baled cotton lint.
15.
"Infested" means actually infested with a Boll Weevil or so exposed to
infestation that it would be reasonable to believe that an infestation
exists.
16. "Inspector" means any
employee of the Plant Board or any other person authorized by the Plant Board
to enforce the provision of these rules.
17. "Non-Commercial Cotton" means cotton
intended for any purposes other than sale or scientific purposes under Section
XII of these rules.
18. "Permit"
means a document issued or authorized by the Plant Board to provide for the
movement of regulated articles to restricted designation for limited handling,
utilization, or processing.
19.
"Person" means any individual, partnership, corporation, company, society, or
association, or other business entity.
20. "Plant Board" means the Arkansas State
Plant Board, which is the agricultural plant regulatory agency of the State of
Arkansas.
21. "Quarantine Area"
means any portion of the State of Arkansas designated as such pursuant to Ark.
Code Ann. §
2-16-609.
22. "Regulated Area" means any portion of an
eradication zone designated for any purpose necessary to the execution of the
Boll Weevil Eradication Program.
23. "Regulated Article" means any article of
any character carrying or capable of carrying the Boll Weevil, including, but
not limited to, cotton plants, seed cotton, cottonseed, other hosts, gin trash,
gin equipment, mechanical cotton pickers, and other equipment associated with
cotton production, harvesting, or processing.
24. "Seed Cotton" means cotton as it comes
from the field prior to ginning.
25. "Shipment or Shipments" means the items
to be transferred or moved, or the act or process of transferring or moving
items from one point to another.
26. "USDA" means the United States Department
of Agriculture.
27. "Used Cotton
Equipment" means any equipment used previously to harvest, strip, transport or
process cotton.
28. "Waiver" means
a written authorization which exempts a Person or any organization from
compliance with one or more requirements of these rules.
Section IV
Eradication Zones.
The eradication zones for the State of Arkansas are defined as follows:
Southwest Zone shall consist of the following
counties: Bradley, Calhoun, Clark, Cleveland, Columbia, Dallas, Garland, Grant,
Hempstead, Hot Springs, Howard, Lafayette, Little River, Miller, Montgomery,
Nevada, Ouachita, Pike, Polk, Saline, Scott, Sevier, and Union.
Southeast Zone shall consist of the following
counties: Arkansas, Ashley, Chicot, Conway, Crawford, Desha (that portion lying
south of the Arkansas river), Drew, Faulkner, Franklin, Jackson, Jefferson,
Johnson, Lincoln, Logan, Lonoke, Perry, Phillips, Pope, Prairie, Pulaski,
Sebastian, St. Francis, Woodruff, and Yell.
Central Zone Area lshall consist of the following
counties: Baxter, Benton, Boone, Carroll, Cleburne, Desha (that portion lying
north of the Arkansas river), Fulton, Izard, Lawrence, Lee, Madison, Marion,
Monroe, Newton, Poinsett ((that portion lying east of the St. Francis River
(administered as central zone but operationally handled as part of the
Northeast Ridge zone)), Randolph, Searcy, Sharp, Stone, Van Buren, Washington
and White.
Central Zone Area 2 shall consist of the following
counties: Crittenden, Cross, and Independence.
Northeast Ridge Zone shall consist of the
following counties: Clay, Craighead (that portion lying west of the St. Francis
river), Green and Poinsett (that portion lying west of the St. Francis
river.)
Northeast Delta Zone shall consist of the
following counties: Craighead (that portion lying east of the St. Francis
river) and Mississippi.
Zones have been designated in accordance with the Boll Weevil
Eradication and Suppression Act (Ark. Code Ann. §§
2-16-601
etseq.)
Section
V
Submission of Reporting Forms, Assessments, Penalties for
Late Payment, Cotton Destruction, and Exemptions.
1. Pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-608, upon passage of
the grower referendum, all Cotton Growers in the eradication zones shall be
required to participate in the eradication program as set forth herein.
Pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-610,
where mandated, all Cotton Growers in an eradication zone shall be required to
participate in the eradication program as set forth herein.
2.
Cotton Acreage
Reporting. Each Cotton Grower shall submit annual cotton acreage
reporting information, listing the acreage and location of all cotton being
grown by the Cotton Grower in this state. Personnel of the Cotton Grower's
Organization will be responsible for determining by use of global positioning
systems or other appropriate technology the exact amount of acreage planted by
individual growers.
3. Cotton
Acreage. Cotton Growers shall report their cotton acreage to the Plant Board,
or its designated agent, no later than June 15 of each year in which field
operations of the Boll Weevil Eradication Program are in effect in their
eradication zone ("Cotton Acreage"). The Plant Board may formulate and
institute a method of assessing and collecting the fees associated with the
Cotton Acreage. Any Cotton Grower who fails to file the Cotton Acreage report
in the manner prescribed by the Plant Board by June 15 shall be subject to a
penalty of up to Three Dollars ($3.00) per acre. Failure to pay the cotton
acreage assessment could result in late payment fees of Three Dollars ($3.00)
per acre if payment is not received by the deadline set by the
invoice.
4. Assessments. The per
acre Assessment shall be as determined by the applicable referendum or by
action of the State Plant Board. The per acre Assessment payable by the Cotton
Grower shall be based on the Cotton Grower's Cotton Acreage report. As of the
date of these rules, the Assessment for each eradication zone may be or have
been up to the amounts shown below.
|
Southwest
|
Southeast
|
Central 1
|
Central 2
|
NE Ridge*
|
NE Delta
|
|
Year 1
|
$15.00
|
$15.00
|
$15.00
|
$15.00
|
$10.00
|
$8.00
|
|
Year 2
|
$35.00
|
$35.00
|
$30.00
|
$25.00
|
$25.00
|
$14.00
|
|
Year 3
|
$35.00
|
$30.00
|
$35.00
|
$30.00
|
$24.00
|
$14.00
|
|
Year 4
|
$25.00
|
$35.00
|
$35.00
|
$30.00
|
$24.00
|
$TBD
|
|
Year 5
|
$20.00
|
$35.00
|
$35.00
|
$30.00
|
$22.00
|
$TBD
|
* NE Ridge Zone (E. Poinsett assessment is same as NE Ridge but
instituted a year later.)
During the years (the maintenance period) following the years
specified above, the per acre annual Assessment in the Southwest Zone shall not
exceed $10 per acre, and the per acre annual assessment in the Southeast and
Central Zones shall not exceed $12 per acre. Maintenance assessments in the NE
Ridge zone shall not exceed $8 per acre. Establishment of a maintenance program
in the N E Delta zone will be determined at the end of the eradication
program.
Upon recommendation of the Arkansas Cotton Grower's
Organization, Inc., the Plant Board may adjust the annual Assessments within
the limits allowed by the referendum then in effect. In the NE Delta zone,
annual assessments will be established by Plant Board action. Assessments for
2011 and possibly for additional years, will be set at $14.00 per acre. Such
Adjustments may be made at the time and in the manner determined by the Plant
Board to be in the best interest of the Boll Weevil Eradication Program. In
making such adjustments, the Plant Board may consider facts and information it
determines to be relevant, including, but not limited to, climate and
environmental conditions, finances and the overall state of the cotton
industry.
5.
Collection of Assessments. Assessments shall be
payable by the Cotton Grower in one (1) installment, as provided below:
(a) The payment shall be paid by the payment
date established by the appropriate invoice. The payment shall be an amount
equal to the Cotton Grower's Cotton Acreage multiplied by the per acre
assessment fee or such amount as is established by the appropriate invoice.
Cotton Growers in the Southwest, Southeast, Central, and NE Ridge zones shall
make such payments payable to the "Arkansas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation"
and cotton growers in the NE Delta zone shall make payments to "Arkansas State
Plant Board" and deliver the payment to the Plant Board, or its designated
agent, no later than the payment date established by the invoice, of each year
in which such Assessments are payable. Cotton Growers who fail to make the
payment by the payment date established by the invoice, shall be subject to a
penalty of up to Three Dollars ($3.00) per acre for unpaid acreage, based on
planted cotton acreage.
(b) An
Assessment will be paid by one person. That person, the producer (the person
responsible for planning, managing and/or performing the cultural practices
associated with producing the crop), or their respective attorney-in-fact,
shall execute the applicable reports prescribed by these rules. All billing
information must be provided, by producers to Cotton Growers Organization
employees who will be collecting assessment invoicing information. The
information will be recorded by the Cotton Growers Organization employee on a
form developed specifically for this purpose. The producer is responsible for
insuring that information delivered to the Plant Board is correct. The Producer
is held ultimately responsible for payment of the assessment and will be
subject to appropriate penalties and late fees if assessments are not received.
Grower's Compliance Certificates, described below, shall not be issued until
the entire Assessment, and any applicable penalty, is paid as
required.
(c) In the event a Cotton
Grower fails to pay Assessments and/or penalties as required under these rules,
pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-617(c)
and (d)(2), the Plant Board may file a lien
with the appropriate county office and the Arkansas Secretary of State on the
cotton, subject to such assessments, and on the Cotton Grower's subsequent
cotton crops until all such amounts are paid in full.
6.
Cotton
Destruction. Pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §§
2-16-610(e)
and
2-16-617(a),
any Cotton Grower who fails to pay all Assessments and/or penalties within
thirty (30) days after notice from the Plant Board shall, upon direction of the
Plant Board, destroy all cotton plants in which the Cotton Grower has an
interest and which are subject to Assessment. Any such cotton plant not
destroyed shall be deemed a public nuisance. The Plant Board may apply to any
court of competent jurisdiction for the issuance of a judgment and order for
condemnation and destruction of the nuisance. The Cotton Grower shall be liable
for all court costs, fees, and other expenses incurred in any action taken
under this paragraph 9.
7.
Grower's Compliance Certificate. Pursuant to Ark. Code
Ann. §
2-16-617(d),
no gins in the State of Arkansas shall gin any cotton grown in an eradication
zone in which field operations of the Boll Weevil Eradication Program are in
effect, or from any other state, unless and until that Cotton Grower files with
the gin a Grower's Compliance Certificate issued by the Plant Board certifying
that said Cotton Grower has paid all fees, Assessments, penalties, and costs
imposed and required pursuant to §
2-16-601 et seq., as
amended, or proof of exemption there from as provided in paragraph 12 below. It
is the responsibility of each Cotton Grower to procure a Grower's Compliance
Certificate for the crop year for each FSA farm number on which cotton is
planted, or proof that an exemption for compliance has been granted from the
Plant Board. The Cotton Grower must file the Grower's Compliance Certificate
with their gin each crop year.
8.
Ginner's Penalty. Any gin that gins cotton for any
Cotton Grower who has not filed a current valid Grower's Compliance Certificate
or proof of exemption issued by the Plant Board shall be subject to a penalty
in the amount of $50.00 per bale for each bale ginned for such non-complying
Cotton Grower. This provision does not prohibit the movement of seed cotton
within the State of Arkansas for protection from loss or efficient storage
prior to ginning.
9.
Exemption Due to Hardship. Pursuant to Ark. Code Ann.
§ 2-16-217(e), Cotton Growers may apply for exemption from payment of any
Assessment or penalty imposed by these rules, on the basis that such payment
will impose undue financial hardship on the Cotton Grower. Criteria for
hardship may include, but are not limited to, (a) late or unavailable financing
through no fault of the Cotton Grower, (b) regional economic conditions, and
(c) regional climate/environmental conditions.
Any Cotton Grower who wishes to request an exemption from
payment of the Assessment or the penalty or both shall apply for the exemption
on forms prescribed by the Plant Board. Except for instances beyond the control
of the Cotton Grower, the application for this exemption must be received by
the Plant Board at least thirty (30) days before the due date of the Assessment
for which exemption is requested. A separate application must be filed for each
calendar year for which the Cotton Grower seeks an exemption. Each such
application shall contain information on which the Cotton Grower relies to
justify an exemption on the basis of undue financial hardship. In the event the
application for exemption is not filed within the time prescribed herein, the
application shall include information that describes the circumstances that
prevented a timely filing. The application form shall include an oath or
affirmation of the applicant as to the truth of all information contained in or
accompanying the application.
The Plant Board shall forward each completed exemption
application form and any information accompanying the form to the Arkansas
Cotton Grower's Organization, Inc. The Arkansas Cotton Grower's Organization,
Inc. shall determine whether each applicant qualifies for a hardship exemption
based on the information contained in or accompanying the application form. If
the Arkansas Cotton Grower's Organization, Inc. determines that the payment of
the Assessment or the penalty or both would impose undue financial hardship on
a Cotton Grower who has applied for an exemption, the Arkansas Cotton Grower's
Organization, Inc. may (1) exempt the Cotton Grower from payment of the
Assessment or the penalty or both, or (2) permit the Cotton Grower to pay the
Assessment or penalty or both on an installment payment plan and prescribe the
payment schedule.
Upon making a determination on any application for exemption,
the Arkansas Cotton Grower's Organization, Inc. shall notify the Plant Board of
its determination, which shall be binding on the applicant. The Plant Board
shall then promptly notify the affected Cotton Grower in writing of the
determination. If an exemption is denied, the Assessment and penalties for the
year in which the application is made will be due at the time they would
otherwise have been due if the application had not been filed, or within thirty
(30) days after the date of the notice of the determination, whichever is
later.
10.
Penalties. The Plant Board shall assess Cotton Growers
penalties for failure to comply with the reporting and/or payment requirements
of these Regulations. Penalties are payable in full to the Arkansas Boll Weevil
Eradication Foundation within thirty (30) days of the date of the penalty
assessment. Any such penalties assessed must be paid before the Plant Board may
issue a Grower's Compliance Certificate under Section V, Paragraph 10 of these
Regulations. Penalties must be paid as provided herein even if the Cotton
Grower appeals the penalty under subparagraph 14 below.
11.
Appeal of
Penalties. Unless specifically provided for elsewhere in these
rules, any person (Cotton Grower, gin or otherwise) assessed a penalty under
these rules may appeal the penalty assessment to the Plant Board within thirty
(30) days of the date of the penalty assessment. Such appeal must include all
information upon which the appealing party bases its appeal. The Plant Board
Director may revoke, modify, or affirm the penalty and shall rule on the appeal
within forty-five (45) days of the Plant Board's receipt of the appeal. The
Director's ruling shall be in writing and mailed to the appealing party via
first class United States mail. Any refunds due on the penalty assessment shall
be paid promptly in compliance with the applicable fiscal rules and
regulations. The Director may seek the recommendation of the Arkansas Cotton
Grower's Organization on any appeals under this Paragraph 14. Provided,
however, any such recommendation from the Arkansas Cotton Grower's Organization
shall not be binding on the Plant Board Director.
12.
Limit on
Penalties. Section V provides for various penalties in connection
with reporting acreage and paying assessments, each of which is a separate
violation and cause for penalty. Notwithstanding the type of penalties imposed
under Section V, the total amount of penalties assessed against a particular
Cotton Grower shall not exceed $15.00 per acre of cotton for the crop year and
acreage in issue.
Section
VI
Cotton Stalk Destruction Incentive. If during the
Boll Weevil Eradication Program seasonal growing conditions promote early
maturation and harvesting of cotton in Arkansas, the Plant Board may, upon
recommendation from the Arkansas Cotton Grower's Organization, Inc., establish
a per acre incentive credit for early stalk destruction. Such incentive credit
shall be applied to the Cotton Grower's Assessment for the following year. In
the event a Cotton Grower's Certified Acreage in the following year is not
sufficient to fully consume the incentive credit in such following year, the
Cotton Grower may apply to the Plant Board for a refund of the unused incentive
credit, using forms prescribed by the Plant Board. The rate per acre of any
such incentive credit, whether uniform for the entire State, or variable, shall
be established and made available to all participating Cotton Growers no later
than September 1 of the current growing year. No incentive credit established
under this paragraph shall be credited or paid to the Cotton Grower by the
Plant Board until the date of the Cotton Grower's stalk destruction has been
confirmed to the Plant Board by eradication program personnel.
Section VII
Planting Cotton in the
Eradication Zone.1.
Prohibited Planting. Pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-610(b)(l),
the Plant Board may prohibit the planting of cotton in designated areas where
Boll Weevil eradication treatments cannot be effectively or legally applied due
to factors concerning the public welfare if determined by the Plant Board that
planting cotton jeopardizes the success of the program (Prohibited Planting
Area). The Plant Board shall identify all Prohibited Planting Areas no later
than March 1 of each year. Notice of the Prohibited Planting Area shall be
published in a local newspaper of general circulation covering the Prohibited
Planting Area at least once a week for four (4) consecutive weeks in the month
of March. In the event a Prohibited Planting Area is not designated by March 1
of the year in issue, the Plant Board's purchase or destruction of cotton shall
be in accordance with Section IX below.
2.
Notice of
Destruction. Pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-611(b),
the Plant Board may by written order require the destruction of cotton planted
in a Prohibited Planting Area after publication of the first notice required in
paragraph 1 above. Said order shall be delivered to the Cotton Grower via
certified United States mail. The order shall identify the cotton to be
destroyed by Township, Range, and Section, or portion thereof. The order shall
specify the date by which the Cotton Grower must destroy the crop at the Cotton
Grower's expense, which date shall be at least ten (10) calendar days after the
date of the order. The order shall further state that in the event the Cotton
Grower does not destroy the cotton by the specified date, the Plant Board will
destroy the cotton and assess the cost of destruction against the Cotton
Grower. The Assessment under this section shall be payable within thirty (30)
calendar days after destruction and shall be treated as any Assessment for
purpose of enforcing these rules. Provided, however, the Cotton Grower may
appeal an order under this paragraph to the Director of the Plant Board. The
appeal must be received by the Plant Board within ten (10) calendar days of the
date of the order. The Director of the Plant Board shall issue an order on the
appeal within ten (10) calendar days of the Plant Board's receipt of the
appeal.
3.
Non-Commercial Cotton. Non-commercial cotton shall not
be planted in an eradication zone in which field operations of the Boll Weevil
Eradication Program are in effect without a waiver issued in writing by the
Plant Board. Application for a waiver shall be submitted in writing and the
Plant Board's decision to grant or deny the waiver may be based on the
following:
(a) Location of growing
area;
(b) Pest conditions in the
growing area;
(c) Size of the
growing area;
(d) Accessibility of
the growing area; and
(e) Any
stipulations set forth in a compliance agreement between the applicant and the
Plant Board that are necessary to the Boll Weevil Eradication
Program.
Section
VIII
Treatment of Boll Weevil in the Eradication Zones.
The eradication of the Boll Weevil in an eradication zone shall be in
accordance with the USDA National Boll Weevil Cooperative Control Program and
shall be executed by the Plant Board and the Arkansas Cotton Grower's
Organization, Inc., with the assistance of the USDA Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service. The Final Environmental Impact Statement, dated 1991,
issued by the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for the National
Boll Weevil Cooperative Program is incorporated into these rules.
Section IX
Purchase of Cotton for
Effectuation of Program Objectives. Pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-611(a),
in the event Prohibited Planting Areas are not identified by the date
prescribed in Section VII above, or the Plant Board otherwise determines it to
be in the best interest of the Boll Weevil Eradication Program, the Plant Board
or the Arkansas Cotton Grower's Organization, Inc. may purchase growing cotton.
The Arkansas Cotton Grower's Organization, Inc. shall determine the purchase
price for such cotton. After such purchase, the Plant Board may manage or
dispose of the purchased cotton as it determines best. If the Cotton Grower
objects to the purchase price determined by the Arkansas Cotton Grower's
Organization, Inc., the Cotton Grower may appeal the determination to the Plant
Board within 15 days of the date of such determination. Such appeal must
include all information upon which the appealing Cotton Grower bases its
appeal. The Plant Board Director shall rule on the appeal within thirty (30)
days of the Plant Board's receipt of the appeal. The Director's ruling shall be
in writing and mailed to the Cotton Grower and the Arkansas Cotton Grower's
Organization, Inc. via first class United States mail.
Section X
Quarantine.
Establishing Quarantine. In carrying out the
purpose of these rules, the Plant Board may designate a quarantine area in
accordance Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-609.
Section XI
Issuance of Certificates
and Compliance Agreements, Cancellations, Attachments and Cotton Gin
Certificates. Certificates may be issued for the movement of regulated
articles from, into or through a regulated area, as determined to be necessary
by the Plant Board.
Section XI
I Scientific Purposes. All cotton planted within the state of
Arkansas notwithstanding the size of the acreage or plant is subject to the
coverage of these rules, provided, however, the Plant Board may designate
experimental areas for experiments designed to contribute to the development of
scientific knowledge deemed of importance to the production of cotton. Cotton
Growers in designated experimental areas and affected thereby, may be exempted
from specified requirements of these rules, provided, however, that such Cotton
Growers abide by a Compliance Agreement applicable to the experimental
areas.
Section XI
II Entry of
Authorized Personnel Upon Properties. Pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-607(b),
Plant Board personnel are authorized to inspect any fields or premises and any
property located therein or thereon for the purpose of determining whether such
property is infested with the Boll Weevil. Such inspections must be conducted
between sunrise and sunset. Such inspections include, but are not limited to,
taking of specimens, examining and obtaining records, and applying or
supervising treatments to the soil, plants or any regulated articles. This may
include removal and destruction of plants, plant parts, or other regulated
articles.
Section XIV
Restricting Access to Eradication Zone and Regulated Area. Pursuant to
Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-605,
the Plant Board may issue rules that restrict entry by unauthorized persons or
any other activities affecting, or affected by, the Boll Weevil Eradication
Program on any premises in an eradication zone or in any regulated area.
12.
FOREST TREE
SEEDLING FUMIGATION.1) All forest tree
seedlings shall meet the requirements of all applicable state and federal plant
pest quarantines.
2) All certified
tree seedlings offered for sale or imported under permit into the State of
Arkansas shall meet the following requirements:
a. Seedlings shipped within and into the
state used for aforestation and reforestation shall be healthy vigorous stock
and must be apparently free of injurious plant pests, including but not limited
to infectious diseases, nematodes, insects, and quarantined pests.
b. To aid in ensuring apparent freedom from
injurious plant pests, the grower shall make appropriate use of approved
pesticides or other alternate practices during the growing of planting stock.
This includes, but is not limited to, a pre-sowing tarped soil application of
methyl bromide.
c. All plants shall
be field inspected by the state plant inspector prior to the initiation of
lifting operations.
13.
REGULATIONS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF
RICE HAVING COMMERCIAL IMPACT
These regulations are established to carry out the provisions
as specified in Act 1238 (An Act to Assign To The Arkansas State Plant Board
Specified Powers, Duties and Responsibilities, Including The Duty To Develop
And Enforce Regulations Relating To Rice Identified As Having Characteristics
Of Commercial Impact; And For Other Purposes.)
I. Definitions.
a. Rice - plants and grain from plants of the
genus Oryza.
b.
Characteristics of Commercial Impact -Characteristics that may adversely affect
the marketability of rice in the event of commingling with any other rice and
includes, but is not limited to those characteristics:
(A) That cannot be identified without the aid
of specialized equipment or testing;
(B) That create a significant economic impact
in their removal from commingled rice; and
(C) Whose removal from commingled rice is not
feasible.
c. Commingle -
the mixing of two or more quantities of grain that have different
characteristics. These characters may or may not have direct commercial value
but may have an effect on the commercial value of the total commingled
lot.
d. Characteristic -a chemical
component (including the plant DNA), physical appearance, physical structure or
other ingredient that could adversely affect the production and marketing for
potential profit by persons involved in crop production.
e. Producer - a person, corporation,
partnership, association or other legal entity involved in the production of a
crop for the purpose of placing the harvest of that crop in commerce.
f State Plant Board - the agency charged with
developing and enforcing regulations relative to, but not limited to, matters
affecting agricultural plant production,
g. Certification - in the context of these
regulations, shall mean the approval of specific varieties, strains, selections
or lots of rice for production in the state,
h. Scientific Review Committee - a group of
individuals each of whom is known by the Plant Board Director to have knowledge
of scientific, industrial or business elements that would aid in the evaluation
of the material under consideration,
i. Research - activities that involve growing
rice plants, harvesting rice grain and/or performing chemical, mechanical or
other pertinent operations on the plants and/or grain in order to accurately
measure/define/develop the characteristics exhibited by the material.
II. Product Ownership
a. Ownership of the characteristic with commercial impact must be declared in
documents filed with the Plant Board. The appropriate forms for making such
declaration will be provided by the Plant Board. All regulatory activities will
be handled through that declared owner or such other person or entity as
dictated by the owner.
III.
Eligibility Requirements
a. Eligibility
requirements are such that a detailed description of the morphological,
physiological and other characteristics that distinguish it from other
varieties or related processes must be provided to the Plant Board. A suitable
test for the purposes of detection/validation of the proposed characteristic
must be provided. Information, designated as Confidential Business Information,
collected in the process of administering these regulations will be considered
exempt from Freedom Of Information Act due to the Trademark Exclusion contained
in that act.
b. Rice possessing
characteristics of commercial impact must have been registered and received
commercial production approval from all appropriate federal agencies that have
regulatory interest in the characteristics. These agencies include but may not
be limited to 1 Environmental Protection Agency, 2)Department of Agriculture,
3)Food and Drug Administration.
c.
Any variety, line, strain or other designated selection of rice that had ever
required a USDA or other agency permit for research or production will be
required to submit to these regulations.
d. Eligibility for research exemption will be
determined by the Plant Board through a review of laboratory management
practices and production protocols by Plant Board staff.
IV. Scientific Review Committee
a. A Scientific Review Committee may be
appointed by The Plant Board to evaluate applications received under these
regulations. The Scientific Review Committee shall consist of producers, not
employed by or be on the board of any other entity represented on the
committee, scientists from Arkansas educational entities, such as colleges and
universities or the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service;
representative(s) of rice mills operating in Arkansas; representative(s) from
the regulated companies; representative(s) of merchandisers located in
Arkansas; the director of the Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center; and
the Director of the Arkansas State Plant Board shall be a permanent ex-officio
standing member of the committee.
b.
The committee shall review and make recommendations to the board concerning,
but not limited to:
1) Identifying rice that
has characteristics of commercial impact;
2) Reviewing rice identified as having
characteristics of commercial impact upon receipt of a petition from the
purveyor of the rice;
3)
Recommending rules establishing terms and conditions for planting, producing,
harvesting, selling, transporting, processing, storing, or otherwise handling
rice identified pursuant to c, 1 of this paragraph, and 4) Reviewing the
efficacy of terms, condition, and identity preservation programs imposed on the
planting, producing, harvesting, transporting, drying, storing, or other
handling of rice identified under section c, 1 of this paragraph using the most
current industry standards and generally accepted scientific
principles.
c. The
criterion for evaluation for suitability for production shall encompass but not
necessarily be limited to: l)The characteristic of economic impact; 2)Potential
impact of characteristic on value of other crops; 3)Potential for accidental
introduction of characteristic into other crops; 4)Quantity of production
requested; 5)Benefit expected to be brought to society from the characteristic;
6) Ability of the owner of the characteristic to comply with all regulations;
7)Ability of the owner of the characteristic to bear financial obligations for
fees, fines and regulatory costs if contaminations are discovered; and 8)Other
concerns arising in the committee deliberations.
V. Fees
a.
An application fee will be charged to each owner/applicant for each and every
characteristic considered, even if the same characteristic had been previously
considered for the same or different applicant.
b. The application fee will be established at
One Thousand ($1000.00) Dollars and will be due with the appropriate form when
application is made to the Plant Board for consideration of
production.
c. The application fee
is non-refundable in the event the production application is denied or the
application abandoned.
d. Fees will
be charged for each applicable inspection that is required to comply with these
regulations.
e. Inspection fees
will be established at One Hundred ($100.00) Dollars per visit. One
re-inspection will be provided (for a specific visit) at no additional charge
if the initial inspection detects conditions that result in an order to cease
operations. Additional inspections that are required due to failure to correct
unacceptable conditions will be assessed an inspection charge equal to the
initial inspection fee for each and every visit made by the inspector. The
frequency of these re-inspections will be determined by the Plant Board. The
re-inspections will be scheduled to insure compliance with the regulations and
permit conditions.
f Any rice
developed at Public Institutions and/or the research programs from those
institutions shall not be subject to application fees as referenced in section
(a) above but will adhere to all other items in these
regulations.
VI. Permits
a. Production Permit. Application for a
production permit shall be made to the Plant Board sufficiently in advance
(minimum of four (4) months) of the expected first planting to allow full
evaluation by Plant Board staff and, if deemed appropriate by the Plant Board
Director, by a Scientific Review Committee.
b. Permit Application Form. The appropriate
form will be supplied by the Plant Board for making the application.
c. Functional Permits. Depending on the
characteristic of economic impact, a determination may be made by the Plant
Board Director that other functions, such as planting, harvesting,
transporting, processing and storage, associated with the production of rice
having the characteristic, may also need to be permitted. To accommodate this
effort, the owner of the characteristic of economic impact should be prepared
to identify all parties that are expected to handle any of the rice in any form
or function.
d. Fees for Functional
Permits. Functions that are deemed to present a risk of causing/allowing a
cross contamination to occur and as a result necessitate inspections, may be
required to pay a fee for securing the permit and for having the inspections
made.
e. Restrictions specific to
the characteristic of economic impact will be contained in the
permit.
VII. Violations
a. Failure to secure permit. Failure to
secure a permit prior to engaging in activities to initiate any facet of the
process of production of a crop, including but not limited to: l)Marketing of
planting seed; 2)Movement of any viable seed containing a target characteristic
into Arkansas; 3)Movement of viable seed from storage to an area that might
support production of the crop; 4)Placement of a seed lot (bulk, bagged or
tote) into any type storage facility in Arkansas; 5)Planting (or placement of
viable seed into contact with any substance that might support germination and
growth of the resulting plants), will be considered a violation.
b. Non-adherence to any and all conditions of
an issued permit, any of the published regulations and any section of the
enabling legislation will be considered a violation.
c. Penalties for Violations. Penalties will
be administered according to the provisions contained in §
2-15-208 of ACT 1238.
The appended Penalty Matrix (Appendix A) outlines the violations and the
appropriate penalty for each of those violations. Each day of a continuing
violation will be considered a separate violation.
d. Level of Violation. Violations may be
judged to be of Major or Minor level for enforcement actions. The enforcement
level classification will be determined by any of the following factors
individually or in combination:
1). length of
time violation occurred before permit was issued (30 days or more is
major);
2). nature of the
characteristic involved;
3).
economic consequences resulting from violation (impacts of more than $1000.00
are major);
4). number of entities
impacted by violation (more than 3 would be major);
5). quantity of previously approved rice
impacted by the violation (more than 500 bushels would be major);
6). other factors deemed appropriate by the
State Plant Board Director.
VIII. 2011 Planting Seed Testing a. All seed
(including pre-commercial lots of seed, commonly known as breeder seed or
parental lines of hybrids prior to production of Foundation Grade seed) used
for any planting in 2011 shall undergo testing prior to April 1, 2011 for the
purpose of identifying seed lots that contain variants of LLRice.
1. Testing Labs. All seed samples shall be
submitted to a lab that has validated the 35S bar test.
2. Sampling. Any seed sample collected for
the purpose of complying with these regulations must be "officially drawn"
samples under supervision of Plant Board Inspectors or an employee of another
state's AOSCA member. The Plant Board (or cooperating state representative)
shall be responsible for submitting the samples for testing, receiving and
disbursing test results and maintaining the chain of custody of the samples
throughout the sampling and testing process.
3. Seed Source. Any seed anticipated to be
used for planting rice must be tested. Seed produced inside Arkansas as well as
any seed produced in other states but entering Arkansas through a purchase must
be sampled and tested. Purchased seed from other states that has undergone
testing under the same protocol as outlined in these regulations and receiving
a "not detected within the specified detection limits" and has documentation to
present the results shall be exempt from additional testing. All lots of seed,
be they bagged or in bulk, shall be subject to these regulations.
3a. Carryover Seed. Any seed tested in a
previous year in a manner compliant with these regulations, held in a sealed
bag, is not required to undergo new GMO testing. Any seed, to be used for
planting, held over in any container, structure or vessel that is open and/or
would not prevent introduction of untested seed (such as but not limited to
bins, tote bags, superbags, open barrels, grain trucks, grain wagons, or grain
carts) must be re-sampled and undergo current year testing.
4. Participation. Entities having seed, saved
from their own production, that is to be used for planting seed, are
responsible for contacting the Plant Board and requesting having a sample
collected for submission for testing.
5. Testing. The testing protocol (commonly
referred to as the 3 5 S bar test) shall be conducted by a lab that uses a
validated protocol.
6. Detection
Level. Testing shall be conducted to effect detection at the .01% level with a
95% confidence interval. Any sample that has a detection in any portion of the
submitted sample shall be ruled as being positive or having a detection within
the detection limits.
7. Records
Retention. Sample submission forms, results reports and any other records
developed in carrying out this testing, shall be retained by the applicant
(those entities owning and having the seed lot submitted for testing) and made
available for review upon request by a authorized representative of the
Arkansas State Plant Board.
8.
Transfer of Seed. Copies of testing results for individual lots of seed shall
be provided to anyone who purchases any portion of the tested lot. Results for
all lots, of which any portion was purchased, shall be provided to the
purchaser.
9. Authorized for Sale.
Any lot of seed tested, utilizing proper protocols, that received a "not
detected within the specified detection limits" result, shall be legal for
sale.
10. Failed Seed. Any lot of
seed that tests "detected within the specified detection limits" for LLRice
shall immediately be removed from the seed market and must be moved through the
grain marketing channels with proper identification as containing GMO
characteristics or be destroyed.
11. Exemption. "Specialty" rice producers and
millers who handle ONLY those rice varieties with characteristics, such as
aromatic qualities, that do not enter the grain marketing channels may be
exempt from these regulations under specific conditions (including but maybe
not limited to):
a. Their seed source can be
documented and verified.
b. Records
that confirm the specialty rice will not enter the long grain market
channels.
IX.
Rough Rice Testing. Testing of rough rice produced from crops planted with seed
subjected to the prescribed testing may be carried out in the normal course of
commerce. All positive detections arising from that testing shall be forwarded
to the Plant Board. Any and all records pertaining to post harvest rough rice
testing by any entity, business or individual, shall be made available to the
Plant Board upon request.
a. Upon notification
of a positive test on post harvest rough rice, the Plant Board will immediately
initiate an investigation to determine if the source of the LLRice can be
isolated.
b. Records relating to
testing of planting seed will be reviewed and the testing lab will be contacted
to confirm results in hand.
1. Any errors
found in the testing and reporting on the planting seed will be subject to
review by the Plant Board and consideration of assessment of civil penalties as
outlined in the Enforcement Response Penalty Matrix.
c. The receiving facility, of the positive
post harvest rough rice, will be asked to follow any USDA protocol for handling
positive rough rice that insures proper disposition/usage of that lot of rough
rice.
X. Random Testing.
The Plant Board may undertake random sampling of grain holding facilities
(including but not limited to farm storage, seed bins or elevator grain bins)
and in seed facilities to enforce the prohibition on planting seed with LL
traits.
SECTION
VIII.
QUARANTINES
1
GYPSY MOTH QUARANTINE
Revoked December 9, 1983 after two (2) successive years of
negative annual surveys.
2
IMPORTED FIRE ANT QUARANTINE
Whereas, it has been determined, and so declared, that a
serious insect pest, the imported fire ant, (Solenopsis saevissima
richteri Forel), is known to exist in Arkansas, and is known to be a
serious pest of humans, crops, livestock, and wildlife.
Whereas, the fire ant may be disseminated by the transportation
or movement of the following products or substances:
(a) soil and unprocessed sand or gravel,
separately or with other things, (b) forest, field, or nursery-grown woody or
herbaceous plants with soil attached, (c) plants in pots or containers, (d)
grass sod, (e) unmanufactured forest products such as stump wood or timbers if
soil is attached, (f) any product or substance which may hereafter be found
capable of spreading the imported fire ant.
a.
Movement of said products or substances from areas which are now or may
hereafter be designated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as imported fire
ant regulated areas is prohibited except under regulations which have been or
may hereafter be made by the U. S. Department of Agriculture.
b. Areas which are found infested or which
are so situated as to be subj ect to infestation with the imported fire ant
must be treated to eradicate it. In lieu of requiring the property to be
treated by the owner, or at the owner's expense, the Board may elect to apply
the treatment, in cooperation with USDA at no cost to the owners. Property
owners will be notified when treatment is to begin through newspapers, radio,
television, and by personal contact where feasible.
3
PEACH MOSAIC
QUARANTINE
Revoked November 10, 1972, after eight (8) successive years of
negative annual surveys.
4
PHONY PEACH DISEASE QUARANTINE
Standard State Quarantine Order No. 2, as Revised June
13,1951
Effective on and after July 2,1951
DISEASE: Phony Peach, a vims disease of peach and certain other
stone fruits. State and Counties Currently Affected by Phony Peach
Disease
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Alabama:
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Entire State
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Florida:
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Entire State
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Georgia:
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Entire State
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Louisiana:
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Entire State
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Mississippi:
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Entire State
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Arkansas:
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Counties of Arkansas, Ashley, Bradley, Chicot,
Columbia, Crittenden, Cross, Desha, Drew, Hempstead, Howard, Jefferson,
Lafayette, Lee, Lincoln, Little River, Miller, Monroe, Nevada, Phillips, Pike,
Poinsett, St. Francis, Sevier, Union and Woodruff.
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Missouri:
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County of Dunklin
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North Carolina:
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Counties of Anson, Cumberland,
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Gaston, Hoke, Polk, and Rutherford
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South Carolina:
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Counties of Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell,
Cherokee, Chesterfield, Edgefield, Greenville, Lancaster, Laurens, Lexington,
Marlboro, Orangeburg, Richland, Saluda, Spartanburg, Sumter and York
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Tennessee:
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Counties of Chester, Crockett, Dyer, Fayette, Hardeman,
Hardin, Lake, Lauderdale, McNairy, Madison and Weakley
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Texas:
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Counties of Anderson, Bexar,
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Brazos, Camp, Cherokee, Freestone, Limestone, McLennan,
Milam, Rusk, San Augustine, Smith and Upshur.
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REGULATED PRODUCTS:
All peach, plum, apricot, nectarine and almond nursery
stock.
CONDITIONS GOVERNING SHIPMENT:
Transportation by any means whatsoever of the regulated
products from any regulated area either into, or within, or from the State of
Arkansas, is permitted only when there is securely attached to the outside of
each shipment a valid nursery inspection certificate issued by an authorized
official of the state of origin and bearing the name and address of the
consignor of the regulated articles contained therein.
REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION:
Certificates or permits shall be issued only on the following
conditions:
1. That each nursery in
the phony peach infested areas producing the regulated products shall apply to
the State quarantine official for approval of the proposed nursery-growing site
on or before August 15 of each year;
2. Selected nursery sites shall be at least
300 yards from wild or domesticated plum, 1/2 mile from phony-infested
commercial orchards, and 1/2 mile from urban area;
3. The one-half environs of the nursery site
shall be inspected prior to October 1, and all phony trees found within such
environs removed prior to November 1;
4. All budding shall be restricted to the
slip-bud method.
REMOVAL OF AREAS FROM REGULATIONS:
When satisfactory evidence has been presented that no phony
peach disease has been found for a period of three years in any county or state
affected by this quarantine, said county or state shall be removed from these
regulations.
SHIPMENT OF REGULATED PRODUCTS FOR SCIENTIFIC PURPOSES:
Regulations of this quarantine do not apply to shipments of
regulated products to the United States Department of Agriculture or to other
recognized institutions for scientific purposes except that a special permit
must be secured for the entry into or movement within the State of Arkansas of
such products.
5. PINK
BOLLWORM QUARANTINE
For information concerning Pink Bollworm quarantine, request
Circular 16.
6. SOUTHERN
PINE BEETLE QUARANTINE Revoked December 2, 1982.
7. SOYBEAN CYST NEMATODE QUARANTINE Revoked
December 4, 1981.
8. SWEET POTATO
WEEVIL QUARANTINE
Adopted March 11,1983 after proclamation of a State Emergency
by Governor Bill Clinton. For information request a copy of the
quarantine.
9.
WHITE-FRINGED BEETLE QUARANTINE
Revoked June 30, 1975 at the same time the Federal quarantine
was revoked.
10.
GIBBERELLA FUJIKUROI (BAKANAE STRAINS; QUARANTINE
The Arkansas State Plant Board has found and determined and
does hereby declare the fungus Gibberella fujikuroi (bakanae
strains), causal agent of the rice disease Bakanae, commonly known
as "foolish seedling disease", a public nuisance, a pest and a menace to the
rice industry.
The purpose of this quarantine is to prohibit introduction of
the disease and its causal agent into rice production areas of Arkansas. The
movement of Gibberella fujikuroi (bakanae strains) regulated
articles from infested areas into Arkansas is hereby restricted.
QUARANTINE
IMPLEMENTATION:
The Arkansas State Plant Board will implement the
Gibberella fujikuroi (bakanae strains)/Bakanae or Foolish
Seedling Disease of Rice-quarantine immediately upon adoption of the
regulations. Regulatory action will be implemented at the discretion of the
Board.
DEFINITIONS:
Certificate-A document issued or authorized by the Arkansas
State Plant Board, or regulatory official of the state of origin, indicating
that a regulated article is not contaminated with Gibberellafujikuroi
(bakanae strains), or has been treated in such a manner as to
eliminate the organism. Such articles may be moved to any destination.
Compliance Agreement-A written agreement between the Arkansas
State Plant Board and any person engaged in growing, dealing in or moving
regulated articles wherein the latter agrees to comply with conditions
specified in the agreement to prevent the dissemination of
Gibberellafujikuroi (bakanae strains).
Exemptions-Provisions contained in these Regulations which
allow for modifications in conditions of movement of regulated articles from
regulated areas under specified conditions.
Farm Operator-Person responsible for the production and sale of
a rice crop on any individual farm.
Infected-Presence of the causal organism on or in seed or any
plant part that may or may not sustain and support the living and reproduction
of the organism.
Infested-Actually infested with the organism or so exposed to
infestation that it would be reasonable to believe that an infestation
exists.
Inoculum-Spores or any other part of the causal organism that
might serve to cause the organism to survive and reproduce on any plant or
plant part that it comes into contact with.
Inspector-Any authorized employee of the Arkansas State Plant
Board, or any other person authorized by the Arkansas State Plant Board to
enforce the provisions of these rules.
Limited Permit-A document issued or authorized by the Arkansas
State Plant Board or a designated regulatory official to provide for the
movement of regulated articles to restricted destination for limited handling,
utilization or processing or for treatment.
Mill Operator- A person responsible for the operation of a
manufacturing plant, and all facilities of that plant, involved in the
processing, packaging or handling of rough rice and rice products.
Milled Rice-Rice that has been subjected to processing to
produce products from rough rice.
Milling Rice-Rice that has been produced, handled, acquired and
destined for processing through a mill.
Person-Any individual, corporation, company, society,
association or other business entity.
Regulated Area-Any state or any portion of such state that is
known to be infested with Gibberellafujikuroi (bakanae
strains).
Research Rice-Any rice seed or rice plant parts that are to be
used in a recognized research project conducted by a state or federal program
under the supervision of a trained and credentialed professional staff that has
in place proper safety programs to prevent the accidental release and/or spread
of the disease.
Rice Mill-Any manufacturing plants and all associated
facilities that are involved in processing rough rice to produce rice related
products.
Rice-All parts of rice and wild rice plants of the genera
Oryza.
Rice Hulls-The outer covering of the rice seed that usually is
removed in the milling process.
Rice Production Area-Any area utilized in the growing of rice
plants for production of the plant and/or subsequent seed for
harvesting.
Rice Products-Any commodity or product that has been produced
from any part of the rice plant and may contain parts of the original plant
structure or they may be unrecognizable as having originated from the rice
plant because of being subj ected to additional processing.
Rice Mill Waste-Any trash or discarded material that was
originally contained or in contact with rice plants, seed or other plant parts
utilized in a milling process.
Rough Rice-Rice seed harvested, handled and transported in the
same form it was in immediately following harvest and removal from the rice
plant.
Seed Assay-Any test available to be applied to a sample, lot or
other quantity of seed to determine the presence of Gibber
ellafujikuroi (bakanae strains).
Seed Rice-Seed removed from the rice plant and subjected to
such processing as to make the seed suitable for use as planting material for
subsequent rice crops. This processing may include but is not limited to
cleaning, treating and bagging. Depending on the handling and products applied
to this seed it may or may not be suitable for human consumption.
Treatment-Any process that may be applied to rice seed or other
plant parts in an attempt to modify/or affect the presence of
Gibberella fujikuroi (bakanae strains).
Used Rice Equipment-Any equipment previously used to harvest,
strip, transport, destroy or process rice.
REGULATAED ARTICLES:
The following are regulated under the provisions of this
Section:
(1) The causal agent,
Gibberellafujikuroi (bakanae strains), in any living stage of
development;
(2) Rice;
(3) Rough Rice;
(4) Seed Rice;
(5) Research Rice;
(6) Milling Rice;
(7) Rice Hulls;
(8) Rice Mill Waste;
(9) Used Rice Equipment;
(10) Any other products, articles or means of
conveyance, not covered by subparagraphs (1) to (9) of this Rule, when
determined by an inspector they present a hazard of spread of
Gibberella fujikuroi (bakanae strains) and the person in
possession thereof has been so notified.
CONDITIONS GOVERNING THE MOVEMENT OF REGULATED ARTICLES:
The following conditions govern the movement of regulated
articles:
(1) A certificate or limited
permit is required to transport regulated articles from a regulated area into
or through any rice production area.
(2) A certificate or limited permit for
movement of regulated articles may be obtained from the Arkansas State Plant
Board or an authorized cooperator/collaborator agency.
(3) A certificate or limited permit may be
issued by an inspector if a regulated article:
a. Has originated in the non-infested area of
this state or in a non-infested area of any other state and has not been
exposed to infestation at any time; or
b. Has been treated to eliminate infestation;
or
c. Has been subjected to a seed
assay to determine if the causal agent is present and none is found;
or
d. Has been grown, manufactured,
stored or handled in such a manner that in the judgment of the inspector no
infestation will be transmitted thereby.
(4) Limited permits may be issued by an
inspector to allow the movement of non-certified regulated articles for
specified handling, utilization, processing or treatment in accordance with
approved procedures, provided the inspector has determined that such movement
will not result in the spread of Gibberella ffujikuroi
(bakanae strains).
(5)
When certificates or limited permits are required, they shall be securely
fastened to the regulated article or to the outside of the container in which
the regulated article is being moved.
(6) Any certificate or limited permit which
has been issued or authorized may be withdrawn by the inspector if he
determines that the holder thereof has not complied with any conditions for the
use of such documents or with any conditions contained in a compliance
agreement.
(7) Persons requesting
certification or a limited permit must request the services from an
inspector(s) at least 48 hours before the services are needed. The regulated
articles must be assembled at the place and manner in which the inspector
designates outside the rice production area. The following information must be
provided at the time the request is submitted:
a. The quantity of the regulated article to
be moved,
b. The location of the
regulated article,
c. The names and
addresses of the consignee and consignor,
d. The method of shipment, and
e. The scheduled date of shipment.
QUARANTINE AREA:
Any rice production area where Gibberellafujikuroi
(bakanae strains) and/or Bakanae (Foolish Seedling Disease) have been
confirmed to occur.
INSPECTION AND
DISPOSAL:
An inspector is authorized to stop and inspect any regulated
article moving into a rice production area. Any article found to be infested
with Gibberellafujikuori (bakanae strains) or having
originated in an area where Gibberella fujikuori (bakanae
stains) is known to occur and not certified, shall be subject to treatment or
confiscation and destruction, without compensation, as required by the Arkansas
State Plant Board. COMPLIANCE
AGREEMENT:
(1) As a condition of issuance of
certificates or limited permits for the movement of regulated articles, any
person engaged in purchasing, assembling, exchanging, handling, processing,
utilizing, treating or moving such articles may be required to sign a
compliance agreement stipulating that he/she:
a. Maintain such safeguards against the
establishment and spread of any infestation;
b. Comply with such conditions as to the
maintenance of identity, handling and subsequent movement of such articles; and
c. Cleaning and treatment of means of conveyance and the containers used in the
transportation of such articles as may be require by the inspector.
(2) Any compliance agreement may be
cancelled by the inspector who is supervising its enforcement whenever he
finds, after notice and opportunity to present views has been accorded to the
other party thereto, that such other party has failed to comply with the
conditions of the agreement. Any compliance agreement may be cancelled when
compliance is no longer required.
VIOLATIONS AND
PENALTIES:
Any violation of these rules may be subject to civil penalties
under the authority of the Arkansas Plant Act of 1917, A.C. A. Section
2-16-203.
ADDENDUM "A"
ENFORCEMENT RESPONSE PLAN
PENALTY MATRIX
NURSERY INSPECTION QUARANTINE SECTIONOther:
A: License Review
Range of $50.00 to $1,000.00ENFORCEMENT
POLICYB: Probation
ARKANSAS ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES ACT A.C.A.
25-15-201 C:
Invalidation of License
Minor Violation: A violative incident which does not involve
human health, safety, or endanger the environment; or other incidents of
non-compliance which do not create a competitive disadvantage for licensees in
full compliance.
Major Violation: A violative incident which affects human
health, safety, or the environment; or other incidents of non-compliance which
create a competitive disadvantage over licensees in full compliance; or a
history of repetitive violative incidents.
|
VIOLATION
|
VIOLATION LEVEL
|
Level of Enforcement
|
2nd
Level of Enforcement
|
3rd
Level of Enforcement
|
4th
Level of Enforcement
|
|
Failure to Secure a License or Permit
Number
|
Minor
|
50- 100
|
101 -200
|
201 - 400
|
401 - 600
|
|
Major
|
100-400
|
401 - 600
|
601 - 800
|
801 - 1000
|
|
Other
|
A-B-C
|
c
|
|
Failure to Fulfill Contracts or Other Related
replacements or adjustments
|
Minor
|
50- 100
|
101 -200
|
201 - 400
|
401 - 600
|
|
Major
|
100-400
|
401 - 600
|
601 - 800
|
801 - 1000
|
|
Other
|
A-B-C
|
c
|
|
Misrepresentation for the purpose of deceiving or
defrauding
|
Minor
|
50- 100
|
101 -200
|
201 - 400
|
401 - 600
|
|
Major
|
100-400
|
401 - 600
|
601 - 800
|
801 - 1000
|
|
Other
|
A-B-C
|
C
|
|
Repeated sales of poor quality
|
Minor
|
50- 100
|
101 -200
|
201 - 400
|
401 - 600
|
|
Major
|
100-400
|
401 - 600
|
601 - 800
|
801 - 1000
|
|
Other
|
A-B-C
|
c
|
|
Unable to produce required records
|
Minor
|
50- 100
|
101 -200
|
201 - 400
|
401 - 600
|
|
Major
|
100-400
|
401 - 600
|
601 - 800
|
801 - 1000
|
|
Other
|
A-B-C
|
c
|
|
Buying, digging, or possessing Ginseng out of
season without proper documentation
|
Minor
|
50- 100
|
101 -200
|
201 - 400
|
401 - 600
|
|
Major
|
100-400
|
401 - 600
|
601 - 800
|
801 - 1000
|
|
Other
|
A-B-C
|
c
|
|
Shipped or moved regulated articles
|
Minor
|
50- 100
|
101 -200
|
201 - 400
|
401 - 600
|
|
Major
|
100-400
|
401 - 600
|
601 - 800
|
801 - 1000
|
|
from a quarantine area without proper treatment
or certificate
|
Other
|
Material will be returned to seller at seller's
expense,
or treated on site with a labeled and approved
pesticide by a licensed Pest
Control operator.
|
Material will be returned to seller at seller's
expense, or treated on site with a labeled and approved pesticide by a licensed
Pest Control operator.
|
A-B-C
Material will be returned to seller at seller's
expense, or treated on site with a labeled and approved pesticide by a licensed
Pest Control operator.
|
C
Material will be returned to seller at seller's
expense, or treated on site with a labeled and approved pesticide by a
licensed
Pest Control operator.
|
|
Failure to label in accordance with the law and
regulations
|
Minor
|
50- 100
|
101 -200
|
201 - 400
|
401 - 600
|
|
Major
|
100-400
|
401 - 600
|
601 - 800
|
801 - 1000
|
|
Other
|
A-B-C
|
c
|
|
Selling, transporting or disposing of in anyway,
plants and nursery stock covered by a stop-sale notice
|
Minor
|
50- 100
|
101 -200
|
201 - 400
|
401 - 600
|
|
Major
|
100-400
|
401 - 600
|
601 - 800
|
801 - 1000
|
|
Other
|
A-B-C
|
c
|
|
Violating a compliance agreement
|
Minor
|
50- 100
|
101 -200
|
201 - 400
|
401 - 600
|
|
Major
|
100-400
|
401 - 600
|
601 - 800
|
801 - 1000
|
|
Other
|
A-B-C
|
c
|
ADDENDUM "B"
ENFORCEMENT RESPONSE PLAN
PENALTY MATRIX CHENIERE RICE REGULATIONS
|
VIOLATION
|
Violation Level
|
1 st Level of Enforcement
|
2nd Level of Enforcement
|
3rd Level of Enforcement
|
4th Level of Enforcement
|
|
Enforcement Action
|
Civil
Penalty
Fine
|
Enforcement Action
|
Civil
Penalty
Fine
|
Enforcement Action
|
Civil
Penalty
Fine
|
Enforcement Action
|
Civil
Penalty
Fine
|
|
1 .Sells, offers for sale, plants, produces, harvests,
stores, distributes, transports, or processes (conditions) for planting
Cheniere or other Rice seed identified as having characteristics of commercial
impact.
|
Minor*
|
A
|
|
Major*
|
A, B
|
$30,000 - $50,000 per unit per day violation
continues
|
A,B,C
|
$50,000 - $75,000 per unit per day violation
continues
|
A,B,C
|
$75,000-$100,000 per unit per day violation
continues
|
A,B,C
|
$100,000 per unit per day
|
|
2. Transporting any rice seed identified as having
characteristics of commercial impact across state lines
|
Minor
|
A
|
|
Major
|
A,B
|
$30,000 - $50,000 per unit per day violation
continues
|
A,B,C
|
$50,000 - $75,000 per unit per day violation
continues
|
A,B,C
|
$75,000-$100,000 per unit per day violation
continues
|
A,B,C
|
$100,000 per unit per day
|
|
3.Representing rice seeds/grain which is
indistinguishable by seed characteristics to be a variety without
characteristics of commercial impact, without having adequate information for
such representation.
|
Minor*
|
A
|
|
Major*
|
A,B
|
$30,000 - $50,000 per unit per day violation
continues
|
A,B,C
|
$50,000 - $75,000 per unit per day violation
continues
|
A,B,C
|
$75,000-$100,000 per unit per day violation
continues
|
A,B,C
|
$100,000 per unit per day
|
|
4. Failure to obtain required test data on planting
rice seed sold, offered for sale or distributed within or into Arkansas.
|
Minor
|
|
Major
|
A,B
|
$30,000 - $50,000 per unit per day violation
continues
|
A,B,C
|
$50,000 - $75,000 per unit per day violation
continues
|
A,B,C
|
$75,000-$100,000 per unit per day violation
continues
|
A,B,C
|
$100,000 per unit per day
|
*Minor or Major determined by 1) nature of the characteristic
involved 2) economic consequences resulting from violation (impacts of more
than $1000.00 are major); 3) number of entities impacted by violation (more
than 3 would be major); 4) quantity of previously approved rice impacted by the
violation (more than 500 bushels would be major); 5) other factors deemed
appropriate by the State Plant Board Director.
Enforcement actions:
A.
Seizure, stop-sale, stop-movement
B. Board/Committee Hearing
C. Referral to Prosecuting Attorney
REGULATIONS ON
PLANT DISEASES AND
PESTS
SECTION I. PUBLIC NUISANCE DECLARED. The
following plant diseases, insect pests and noxious weeds, under the provisions
of the Arkansas Plant Act (AC. A. '
2-16-201 et seq) are hereby
declared to be a public nuisance, including anything infected, infested or
contaminated therewith. The extent to which these plant diseases, insect pests
and noxious weeds are regulated is covered in this and other Plant Board
circulars. Italicized pests are intent of horticulture inspections.
A.
Plant Disease Pests Listed
1.
Chestnut blight (chestnut
and chinquapin)
2.
Phony
peach, peach mosaic and peach rosette
3. Fusiform and other gall rusts of
pines
4. Texas root rot (cotton and
other plants)
5.
Oak wilt
(oak, chestnut and other trees and shrubs)
6.
Cedar-apple
rust
7.
Fire
blight (pear, apple and other plants)
8.
Root knot
nematode
9.
Soybean cyst nematode
10.
Foliar nematodes (Aphelenchoides besseyi and
others)
11.
Crown
gall and other infectious galls
12.
Hairy root of apple and
rose
13.
Bacterial spot of peach
14.
Strawberry
dwarf
15.
Red
stele of strawberry
16.
Virus diseases on horticultural crops
17.
Strawberry yellows
(genetic)
18.
Infectious cankers
19.
Bacterial spot of tomato
20.
Alternaria and septoria leaf
spots of tomato
21.
Late blight of tomato
22.
Camellia petal
blight
23.
Azalea
petal blight
24. Hoja
blanca disease of rice
25.
Internal cork of sweet potato
26.
Black rot of sweet
potato
27.
Stem
rot of sweet potato
28.
Anthracnose on various host plants
29.
Pink root of
onion
30. Sting
nematode
31.
Blights and
leaf spots damaging to plants
32.
Collar rot
33.
Dutch Elm
disease
34.
Phloem necrosis
35.
Bud rot on strawberries
36.
Fusarium wilt of tomatoes (all
races)
37.Blueberry nursery stock
diseases
38.
Pinew ood nematode
39.
Blackleg of rape
40.
Rose
Rossette
B.
Insect Pests Listed1. Pink
bollworm (cotton and okra)
2.
Sweet Potato weevil
3. Fruit flies (fruit and vegetable) does not
apply to Drosophila
4. Khapra
beetle and other stored grain insects
5. Bruchids and other pest of seeds (seeds of
crops and other plants)
6.
Japanese Beetle (trees, fruits, vegetables and other
plants)
7.
Gypsy
and Browntail moths and other leaf-feeding insects (trees, shrubs and other
plants)
8.
Fire
ant, Argentine ant, carpenter ant and other injurious ants
9.
Vegetable
weevil
10.
White-fringed beetle
11.
European chafer
12.
Termites
13. Powderpost
beetles
14.
San Jose scale
and other scale insects
15.
Wooly Aphis
16.
White flies
17.
Strawberry crown
borer
18.
Pine
tip moth and other insects attacking pine shoots
19. Oriental fruit moth
20.
Borers of all
kinds
21.
European red mite and other spider mites
22.
Bagworms and other leaf-eating
insects
23.
Thrips
24.
Aphids
25. Harlequin
bugs
26. Roaches and other
household insect pests
27.
Elm leaf beetle
28. Cereal
leaf beetle
29. Southern pine
beetle
30.
Brown garden
snail, or any other plant destroying snail
31. Asian Ambrosia Beetle
C.
Noxious Weeds
Listed1. Field bindweed
(Convolvulus arvenis)
2.
Nut grass (Cyperus
rotundus)
3.
Wild
onion and/or wild garlic (Allium spp.)
4. Johnson grass (Sorghum
halapense)
5. Dodder
(Cuscuta spp.)
6.
Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon)
7. Cheat or Chess (Bromus secalinus)
and/or (Bromus commutatus)
8. Darnel (Lolium
temulentum)
9. Corncockle
(Agrostemma githago)
10. Horsenettle (Solanum
carolinense)
11. Purple
nightshade (Solanum elaeagnifolium)
12. Buckhorn plantain (Plantago
lanceolata)
13. Bracted
plantain (Plantago aristata)
14.
Rumex spp.
15. Blueweed (Helianthus
ciliaris)
16. Morning Glory
(Ipomea spp.)
17.
Hedge Bindweed (C. sepium)
18. Red rice (Oryza sativa
var.)
19. Curly indigo
(Aeschynomene indica)
20. Tall indigo or coffee bean
(Sesbania exaltata)
21. Giant foxtail (Setaria
faberi)
22. Witchweed
(Striga spp.)
23.
Crotalaria (Crotalaria spp.)
24. Cocklebur (Xanthium
spp.)
25. Moonflower
(Calonyction muricatum)
26. Alligatorweed (Alternanthera
spp.)
27. Balloonvine
(Cardiospermum halicacabum)
28. Itchgrass (Rottboellia
exaltata)
29. Thistle
(Carduus, Cirsium, Onopordum, Silybum, Scolymus, Salsola and other
genera)
30. Serrated Tussock
(Nassella trichotoma)
31.
Purple Loosestrife
(Lythrum salicaria)
32. Barnyardgrass (Echinochloa
crusgalli)
33. Water
Hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes, E. azurea)
34. Japanese Blood Grass (Imperata
cylindrica)
35. Tropical
Soda Apple
(Solanum viarum)
Any foreign insect, plant disease or weed which may be brought
into Arkansas and whose habits and injuriousness under the conditions of
agriculture in Arkansas are unknown, is regarded as dangerous and is declared
to be a public nuisance.
PROHIBITED PLANT LIST
Plants contained on the following list present such a danger to
the natural ecosystems in the state that they are hereby declared prohibited.
No plant, seed or any reproductive structure may be sold or utilized in
plantings in Arkansas.
1. Purple
Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
2.
Giant salvinia (Salvinia molesta)
3. Water Hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes, E.
azurea)
4. Japanese Blood Grass
(Imperata cylindrica)
SECTION VI.
Regulations Governing the
Movement of Sweet Potatoes into the State from Areas Infested or Suspected of
Being Infested with Sweet Potato Weevil.
A. Sweet potatoes, or plants or vines
thereof, which have been grown or stored in counties or parishes now or
hereafter known to be infested with the sweet potato weevil, must not be
transported into or stored, used, or distributed within the state of Arkansas,
except as follows:
1. Sweet potatoes must be
moved only to consignee who holds a valid permit (issued on request) from the
Arkansas State Plant Board, authorizing said consignee to receive shipments of
fumigated potatoes between July 1 and January 31 of each year.
2. Sweet potatoes must be fumigated with
methyl bromide immediately prior to shipment in a manner approved by the
Director of the Arkansas State Plant Board, (a) Only sweet potatoes which have
been inspected and found apparently free of weevils will be eligible for
fumigation, (b) Fumigation certificates signed by an authorized plant
quarantine official, showing number of bushels, car number, dosage, time of
exposure, temperature, name and address of consignor and consignee and any
other information required by the Director, must be mailed to the Plant Board
at Little Rock when the shipment is made, (c) Duplicate copy of certificate
must be attached to waybill, or be in possession of the driver of vehicle, (d)
Each container in the shipment must bear an official fumigation tag. (e) Sweet
potatoes must be moved into Arkansas immediately after fumigation.
3. Permit-holder (consignee) must notify the
Plant Board, Little Rock, immediately on arrival of each shipment. With said
notification, permit-holder must remit to the Plant Board a one-cent fee for
each bushel of sweet potatoes in said shipment.
4. Sweet potato plants or vines must not be
transported into Arkansas under any condition.
The Plant Board will inspect on arrival as many of the
fumigated shipments as possible. Should living stages of sweet potato weevil be
found in any shipment, or should it be found that any of the provisions of this
rule are not being complied with, the Director may invalidate any or all
permits issued under this rule. The Director may cause to be destroyed,
refumigated or removed from the state, any shipment in which live stages of the
weevil are found.
B.
Exception for Canning Plants.
Sweet potatoes fumigated as described in Paragraphs 2 and 3 may be
brought to canning plants for immediate canning at any time, provided culls and
refuse are sterilized at the plant.
"Unfumigated sweet potatoes may be brought to canneries at any
time provided the canner and broker or hauler has a signed Compliance Agreement
on file with the Plant Board binding him to the following:
1. Special permission shall be obtained from
the Director of the Arkansas State Plant Board before bringing weevil-area
potatoes into the state. Permission shall be restricted to the following area
and purpose:
a.
Area - That
section of Northwest Arkansas included in the following counties: Baxter,
Benton, Boone, Carroll, Cleburne, Conway, Crawford, Faulkner, Franklin, Fulton,
Independence, Izard, Jackson, Johnson, Lawrence, Madison,
Marion, Newton, Pope, Pulaski, Randolph, Searcy, Sebastian, Sharp, Stone, Van
Buren, Washington and White. Prohibited elsewhere in the state.
b.
Purpose -
Immediate canning only. Seed, bedding, table use, etc., prohibited, entire
state.
2. Each load
shall be accompanied by an official certificate of the state of origin showing
apparent freedom from weevils.
3.
Each load shall be officially sealed by the originating inspector and remain
sealed until opened for canning.
4.
Certificates and seals from each load shall be kept by cannery and surrendered
to inspector upon request.
5. If
shipped by rail at any time or truck between January 1 and July 1, certificates
must show treatment of load with a pesticide recommended and registered for
such use.
6. Shipment must be in
tight rail cars or van-type trucks with vents screened. Tarpaulin-covered loads
will not be accepted.
7. Potatoes
must be canned immediately upon arrival. In emergency cases potatoes may be
unloaded and stored for not more than 48 hours in such a way that weevils, if
present, cannot escape and cause infestation.
8. No potatoes may be carried away from
canning plant, and all must be canned except culls.
9. Culls, wastes and cleanings must be:
a. Processed through lye vat at regular plant
speed and temperature and flushed down drain, or
b. Collected in a tank covered with hot lye
solution (Minimum 185 degrees F.), allowed to soak for 1 hour, then either
buried 2 feet deep, flushed down drain, or fed to livestock
immediately.
10. After
canning, plant premises must be thoroughly cleaned and sprayed with an
insecticide to kill any live weevils thereon.
11. Trucks and rail cars after unloading and
before leaving premises must also be cleaned and sprayed as in number 10 above,
and cleanings disposed of as in number 9 above.
12. Plant Board inspectors will make
periodical, unannounced inspections to check for conformity with all items
stipulated herein, but will not necessarily remain through entire canning
process each visit.
13. Inspectors
will recommend cancellation of this Agreement and withdrawal of the Director's
special permission if serious discrepancies with the stipulations are
noted.
14. An inspection fee of 5
cents per bushel will be charged, based upon duplicate load certificates, which
are received by the Plant Board office from the out-of-state inspector. These
certificates and seal numbers must match those kept by the canner from each
load and surrendered to Plant Board inspector."
C. Sweet potatoes grown in counties or
parishes which are free or which have been declared free of potato weevil will
be admitted into Arkansas without fumigation, provided each load is accompanied
by a certificate of the quarantine officer of the state where grown, giving
name and address of grower, number of bushels in the load, destination of load,
name of county or parish where grown, and certifying that said county or parish
is free of sweet potato weevil, and the date issued.
SECTION VII.
MISCELLANEOUS
REGULATIONS
1. Sale or Transportation
of Seed Irish Potatoes is prohibited within the state (Irish potatoes which are
represented orally or in writing as being suitable for planting purposes)
unless the potatoes have been inspected in the field and certified as true to
variety and free from disease, by the official certification agency of the
state in which they were grown; and the official certification tag of said
state must be sealed to each bag or container thereof.
Use of Misleading Words Prohibited. Seed Irish
potatoes must not be accompanied by tags, labels, or other devices on which are
used the words "Inspected or Certified" or on which are used any other word or
words which might suggest a similar meaning, unless said potatoes have in fact
been certified as to freedom from disease and as to varietal purity by the
official certification agency of the state in which they were grown.
2.
Texas (Phymatotrichum) Root Rot.
Nursery stock, strawberry plants and vegetable plants grown or
originating in the counties of Miller and Little River, and in any other
counties in which the phymatotrichum root disease is hereafter found to exist,
which are affected with said disease, shall be prohibited from moving into any
other portion of the state or into other states.
3. The Director may refuse further services
of the Plant Board to anyone who owes the Board for fees, until the fees are
paid or until satisfactory arrangements are made for paying them.
4.
Phytosanitary Certificates.
For sampling, inspecting or analyzing, and issuing phytosanitary
certificates for soybeans, rice, small grains, cottonseed, cottonseed meal,
soybean meal, lumber and other plant products or plants, the charge will be
$15.00 per certificate.
5.
Plant Destroying Snails. The Brown Garden Snail,
Helix
aspersa, has been reported in Arizona, California, Florida, Louisiana
and South Carolina. It is a plant feeder and very destructive to many host
plants. It is readily transported on infested nursery stock. The shipment,
therefore, of nursery stock into Arkansas from infested states, or from any
state hereafter found infested with this or any other snail know to be a
serious plant pest, shall be subject to the following:
A. Nurseries in infested states who desire to
ship plants into Arkansas shall file certificates of inspection with the
Arkansas State Plant Board. As part of such certificate, or attached to it,
there shall be a declaration signed by the state's regulatory officer stating
that the nursery concerned has been inspected and found free of the Brown
Garden Snail,
Helix aspersa.
Amended certificates of inspection will also be accepted for
nurseries which ship only:
1) Bare
root nursery stock free of soil.
2)
Cured bulbs free of soil.
3)
Nursery stock from tightly enclosed greenhouses or other structures where
official inspections are made to assure the enclosures are free of snails.
A valid copy of the state of origin certificate of inspection
shall be attached to each package, box or bundle of nursery stock shipped into
Arkansas, or to the invoice accompanying each bulk delivery of balled and
burlapped or container-grown stock.
B. Infested nurseries may ship plants into
Arkansas under either of the following conditions:
1)
Fumigation. Certificates and
invoices shall accompany each load showing that the stock has been fumigated in
a gastight chamber with methyl bromide, 2 1/2 pounds per 1,000 cubic feet, 70
degrees F. or above, for 2 hours; or with HCN, 25cc per 100 cubic feet, 50 to
85 degrees F., for 1 hour.
2)
Quarantine Area Certification. Nursery stock will be accepted if
accompanied by certificates and invoices showing that the plants have, under
official supervision, been:
a. Held in a
separate, designated quarantine area for at least 30 days.
b. Treated intermittently with baits and
sprays.
c. Inspected and
reinspected for Brown Garden Snail.
d. Completely free of harmful snails for at
least 30 days.
C. Nursery stock or plant material arriving
in Arkansas from an infested state without proper certification will be held
under Stop-Sale Order until properly certified, or returned to the shipper at
his expense, unless found infested with living Brown Garden Snails or other
snails known to be serious plant pests.
D. Nursery stock or plant material found
infested with Brown Garden Snail or any other dangerous plant pest will be
destroyed, or fumigated at the shipper's expense,provided the infestation can
be eliminated without hazard of spread of the pest during treatment.
6.
Fusarium Wilt of
Tomatoes. A new race of the tomato fusarium wilt organism
(Fusarium oxysporum f. sp
lycopersici race 2) has
been found in the pink tomato section of Southeast Arkansas. This organism is a
serious threat to commercial tomato production anywhere in the state. To
prevent the spread of Race 2, or other new races which may hereafter develop,
the following regulations shall apply to all producers of vegetable plants in
Bradley and Drew Counties, and in every county where Race 2 or other new races
may subsequently be found.
The movement of tomato plants within or from the above
described regulated area is prohibited, except when such plants are produced
under inspection of the State Plant Board and in compliance with the following
special regulations:
A. Soil used in
beds, pots, cups, flats, pot-beds and cold frames for plant production, or to
rest containers upon, shall be obtained from areas where tomatoes have not been
grown in the past.
B. Soil and/or
soil-media mixtures shall be decontaminated by one of the following methods
before use in plant production:
1) Methyl
Bromide fumigation (4 pounds per 100 cubic feet of soil for a minimum of 24
hours at 40 degrees F. or above).
a. Bulk soil
shall be confined on a concrete slab or sheet of polyethylene plastic over the
ground surface during fumigation.
b. Bulk soil shall be no more than 12 inches
deep to assure gas penetration.
c.
Holes shall be punched in the soil at 12 inch centers to facilitate gas
penetration.
d. Soil in pot-beds,
coldframes and holding areas shall be loosened as deep as practicable to assure
gas penetration.
e. Fumigation
covers shall be air tight (no holes).
f Special care shall be taken when removing
the cover to prevent recontamination with untreated soil.
2) Heat sterilization shall be acceptable if
performed according to Extension Service recommendations (Misc. Publication 64,
"Control of Disease and Insect Pests in the Plant Bed").
3) Artificial media (new or unused peat,
perlite, vermiculite, etc.) may be used without decontamination if reasonable
precautions are taken against contamination with untreated soil (i.e., mixing
on sterilized surfaces, etc.).
C. All flats, boxes, pots, cups, tools, etc.,
which have been used in plant production or which have come in contact with
untreated soil must be decontaminated, preferably by Methyl Bromide
fumigation.
D. Plant house interior
surfaces must be decontaminated (all surfaces of benches, timber supports,
heating and ventilating equipment, walls, ceilings, floors, etc.).
1) This shall also apply to surfaces of
coldframes, pot-beds and holding areas.
2) An effective decontaminant spray or drench
may be prepared with 50% commercial Clorox, or with 1 gallon commercial
formaldehyde to 18 gallons water. After using either material, ventilate until
fumes can no longer be detected before growing plants (a few hours to several
days for Clorox, longer for formaldehyde, depending upon conditions).
E. Direct traffic from tomato
fields to plant production areas must not be permitted.
1) Wash hands with soap and decontaminate
shoes with 50% Clorox before entering the plant house, coldframes or holding
areas.
F. Locally grown
seed shall not be planted.
1) A tag or invoice
showing purchase of seed from an established seed firm must accompany
application for inspection.
2) In
cases of dire necessity locally grown seed may be used if hot water treated
(122 degrees F. for 25 minutes). Advance permission must be obtained from
Director of Plant Industry Division.
G. These regulations shall apply in addition
to and do not replace any other regulations now given in "Regulations On Plant
Diseases and Pests" (Circular 11).
7.
Blueberry Nursery Stock. The
production of blueberries is a new and growing industry in Arkansas. Diseases
such as red ringspot, necrotic ringspot, stunt and phytophthora root rot pose a
serious threat to the blueberry industry, especially in its developing stages.
To prevent the spread of these and other diseases by blueberry nursery stock
the following regulations shall apply to all blueberry plants produced in
Arkansas for sale.
A.
Mother Blocks.
All blueberry plants produced in Arkansas shall be grown from cuttings
taken from mother blocks which have been established as prescribed by these
regulations and kept under rigid inspection and rouging by the State Plant
Board. Mother blocks shall be established by one of the following methods:
1) Transplanting or clearly designating and
setting apart plants which have been inspected and found to be free of serious
diseases, including the above, or
2) Setting plants which have been indexed or
otherwise officially determined to be free of harmful diseases, or
3) Setting plants which have been produced in
an approved official certification program in Arkansas or another state,
or
4) Setting plants which have
been produced from cuttings from an officially approved mother block
established and maintained as set out in these regulations.
5)
New Varieties. When it
appears advantageous to the Arkansas blueberry industry to bring in a promising
new variety which does not qualify for entry under (a) through (d) above,
cuttings, rooted cuttings or plants may be brought into Arkansas and grown in
isolation under inspection, indexing or other testing until officially
determined to be free of harmful insects and diseases. When such official
determination has been made, said plants shall be eligible for the
establishment of mother blocks as in (a) and (b) above.
Proof of origin in the form of affidavits or sales invoices or
certification tags, shall be required for cuttings, rooted cuttings or plants
which are to be used in establishing approved mother blocks if from a source
other than the applicant nurseryman's own blocks.
B
Mother Blocks:
1) Shall not be fruited for production
purposes.
2) Shall be clearly
designated and set apart from fruiting fields and when possible located where
they will not receive drainage from fruiting fields.
3) Shall be inspected by the State Plant
Board as often as necessary and at optimum times for the detection of such
diseases as red ringspot, necrotic ringspot, other virus diseases, stunt,
phytophthora root rot, fungus cankers, crown gall, and harmful insects and
mites.
a. All obviously diseased or seriously
infested plants found in a mother block shall be removed and destroyed within
10 days of inspection.
b. Plants
suspected of being diseased or infested shall be submitted to the appropriate
department at the University of Arkansas for an official determination. Those
plants officially determined to be diseased or seriously infested shall be
removed and destroyed when such is determined to be necessary.
C.
Production of
Nursery Stock.1)
Cuttings
taken from a mother block shall be:
a.
Rooted in beds on raised benches or raised gravel to break contact with the
soil. If the bedding medium contains soil or is being reused the medium shall
be fumigated with an approved fumigant according to label directions. Heat
sterilization performed according to directions in Extension Circular 540,
"Control of Diseases and Insect Pests in the Plant Bed," shall be acceptable.
Artificial media (new peat, perlite, vermiculite, washed sand,
etc.) may be used without fumigating or heat treating if reasonable precautions
are taken against contamination.
b.
Rooted in beds located where they will not receive drainage from fruiting
fields or mother plant blocks.
2)
Rooted Cuttings. Rooted
cuttings shall be transplanted to:
a. Fields
which have been fumigated with an approved fumigant according to label
directions, or b. Containers in which the growing medium, if it contains soil
or is being reused, has been fumigated or heat treated as in III (a) 1 above.
Artificial media (new peat, perlite, vermiculite, washed sand,
etc.) may be used without fumigating or heat treating if reasonable precautions
are taken against contamination. Used containers shall be decontaminated by
washing with 30% clorox solution before reusing. Containers shall be placed on
raised benches or on raised gravel beds in such manner as to avoid contact of
the plants or containers with contaminated soil or water. Container blocks or
field blocks shall be located where they will not receive drainage from
fruiting fields or mother plant blocks.
3)
Nursery Stock. Blueberry
nursery stock when produced as prescribed herein may be sold as:
a. Cuttings.
b. Rooted Cuttings.
c. Field-grown plants.
d. Container-grown plants.
Proof of origin must be provided to the purchaser if the
cuttings, rooted cuttings or plants are to be used in the establishment of new
mother blocks or for the production of rooted cuttings or container-grown or
field-grown plants for sale.
D.
Application of Regulations.
These regulations shall apply in addition to and do not replace any
regulations covering nursery stock now in effect as covered by Plant Board
Circular 11, "Regulations on Plant Diseases and Pests," nor do they replace or
supersede any requirement of the Arkansas Plant Act or the Arkansas Nursery
Fraud Act.
E. Fees. The nursery
license and inspection fees described in Circular 11, Section IV shall
apply.
F.
Effective Date.
To avoid penalizing plant production by current methods while mother
blocks are being established, these regulations shall become effective in two
stages. Present plant production practices may be continued until December
31,1984, after which date all cuttings shall be taken and started as prescribed
in these regulations. After December 31, 1986 all cuttings, rooted cuttings and
plants produced in Arkansas for sale shall be produced as set forth in these
regulations.
8.
Lythrum Species (Including but not limited to Purple Loosestrife).
All Lythrum species including any hybrid cross thereof is hereby
declared to be a public nuisance and designated a noxious weed. It is
prohibited to transport, buy, sell, offer for sale, or to distribute
Lythrum species inter or intra state. The planting of
plants and/or plant parts including seed is strictly prohibited in the State of
Arkansas.
9.
Rules and
Standards For Certification of Certified Blackberry Plants. The
production of blackberry nursery stock is an important industry in Arkansas.
Diseases such as rust, anthracnose, crown gall and viruses, as well as pests
such as cane borers and nematodes pose a threat to the blackberry nursery
industry. To prevent the spread of these problems by nursery stock, the
following certification regulati shall apply to the production and sale of
certified blackberry nursery stock in Arkansas.
I.
Definitions
Board means the Arkansas State Plant Board.
Blackberry means cultivated Rubus
species and related plants that are considered blackberry
botanically.
Cane cutting is a cane section of two or more
nodes or buds (length 4-6 inches) to be transplanted to produce a plant.
Crown is the persistent (perennial) base of the
plant; the junction between canes and roots (some varieties have buds that
arise primarily from the crown).
Director means the director of the State Plant
Board or his duly appointed representative.
Hardwood cutting is taken from a mature woody stem
for the purpose of propagation.
Indicator plant means any herbaceous or woody
plant used to index or determine virus infection.
Indexing is a procedure to determine virus or
other pathogen infection by inoculation from the plant to be tested to an
indicator plant (grafted onto plant to be tested) or by any other approved
method.
Mericlones are plants clonally propagated from a
single meristem tip.
Micropropagation is plant multiplication
in vitro. Blackberry is propagated in tissue culture by
aseptic transfer of meristem tip cultures to produce Nuclear stocks.
Nodal cutting is a cane cutting with a single node
to produce a plant.
One-year-old plants means well rooted plants that
have developed during one growing season.
Primocane (succulent plants) is the current
season's growth that develops from root or basal crown buds.
Root cuttings is a root section with one or more
buds.
Softwood cutting is taken from a green, immature,
actively growing stem of a woody plant during spring or early summer for the
purpose of propagation.
Succulent plant means a small, actively growing
plant that is developing from root buds, not having passed through a dormant
period.
Virus infected (affected) means presence of a
virus (es) or yellows disease agent in a plant or plant part. The word "virus"
shall be used hereafter to include yellows disease.
Virus-like means a disorder of genetic or non
transmissible origin, or a graft-transmissible disorder resembling a virus
disease, including but not limited to diseases caused by viroids and
phytoplasmas
II.
Certifying agency issuance of certificate
A. The issuance of a certified state of
Arkansas plant tag or stamp under this chapter affirms solely that the tagged
or stamped blackberry stock has been subjected to certification standards and
procedures by the department. The Board disclaims all expressed or implied
warranties, including without limitation, implied warranties of merchantability
and fitness for particular purpose, regarding all plants, and plant materials
under this chapter.
B. The Board is
not responsible for disease, genetic disorder, off-type, failure of
performance, mislabeling, or otherwise, in connection with this chapter. No
grower, nursery dealer, government official, or other person is authorized to
give any expressed or implied warranty, or to accept financial responsibility
on behalf of the Plant Board regarding this chapter.
C. Participation in the blackberry planting
stock certification program is voluntary.
III.
Blackberry certification
standards The following specific rules constitute the requirements and
standards for classes and sources of blackberry certified stock:
Nuclear stock shall be derived from plants that
have been micropropagated, indexed, apparently free from other pests, and
evaluated in field tests for trueness-to-variety. Nuclear stock may exist
as
in-vitro tissue culture plantlets or potted plants
in a screened greenhouse. Sources of plants grown as nuclear stock must be
approved by the State Plant Board.
Foundation stock is produced from Nuclear stock
and grown in a greenhouse or screenhouse to exclude insects.
Registered stock is produced from Foundation stock
in greenhouse, screenhouse, or field.
Certified stock is produced from Registered stock
in greenhouse, screenhouse, or field.
IV. Requirements for the production of
foundation, registered and certified blackberry stock
A. Facilities (greenhouse, screenhouse,
water, equipment, etc.) for plant production must be approved by the Board
before Foundation stock is procured by the producer.
B. Foundation stock
1. Foundation plants may be maintained
indefinitely if grown in an insect-proof facility (greenhouse), in sanitized
substrate, and indexed every three years by the United States Department of
Agriculture or other personnel approved by the Board.
2. Growers may use micro-propagation
techniques to multiply foundation plants prior to planting in a foundation
greenhouse provided the micro-propagated plants are isolated from other
non-indexed blackberry plants, and the micro-propagation facilities are
approved by the Board.
3. In
greenhouse or screenhouse, Foundation plants shall be produced in separate
sanitized containers with labeling of cultivar name and lot number (if
applicable).
4. Non-certified
Rubus species must not exist within 152 meters (500 feet) of
the perimeter of the greenhouse. Weeds that host disease of major concern must
be controlled within 152 meters (500 feet) of the perimeter of the greenhouse.
Insects that vector diseases of major concern should be controlled in isolation
areas.
5. Non-certified
Rubus species must not exist within the greenhouse or
screenhouse.
6. Blossoms shall be
removed before the blossoms open.
C. Registered stock
1. Registered plants may be maintained
indefinitely if grown in an insect-proof facility (greenhouse), in sanitized
substrate, and indexed every three years.
2. In greenhouse or screenhouse, Registered
plants shall be produced in separate sanitized containers with labeling of
cultivar name and lot number (if applicable).
3. Non-certified Rubus
species must not exist within 152 meters (500 feet) of the perimeter
of the greenhouse. Weeds that host disease of major concern must be controlled
within 152 meters (500 feet) of the perimeter of the greenhouse. Insects that
vector diseases of major concern should be controlled in isolation
area.
4. Non-certified
Rubus species must not exist within the greenhouse or
screenhouse.
5. For field
production, soil treatment is required with an approved method (ex. solid soil
fumigation with methyl bromide + chloropicrin). Weeds that host diseases of
major concern will be controlled. Insects that vector diseases of major concern
should be controlled in isolation area.
6. Non-certified Rubus
species must not exist within 152 meters (500 feet) of the perimeter
of the field used to produce certified blackberry stock. Each lot and/or
different cultivars are labeled and separated by a distance of 4.25 meters (14
feet) or a physical barrier that prevents intermingling of roots.
7. Field produced Registered stock shall not
be harvested beyond one year.
8.
Blossoms shall be removed before the blossoms open.
C. Certified stock
1. Certified plants may be maintained
indefinitely if grown in an insect-proof facility (greenhouse), in sanitized
substrate, and indexed every three years.
2. In greenhouse or screenhouse, Certified
plants shall be produced in separate sanitized containers with labeling of
cultivar name and lot number (if applicable).
3. Non-certified Rubus
species must not exist within 152 meters (500 feet) of the perimeter
of the greenhouse. Weeds that host disease of major concern must be controlled
within 152 meters (500 feet) of the perimeter of the greenhouse. Insects that
vector diseases of major concern should be controlled in isolation
area.
4. Non-certified
Rubus species must not exist within the greenhouse or
screenhouse.
5. For field
production, soil treatment is required with an approved method (ex. solid soil
fumigation with methyl bromide + chloropicrin). Weeds that host diseases of
major concern will be controlled. Insects that vector diseases of major concern
should be controlled in isolation area.
6. Non-certified Rubus
species must not exist within 152 meters (500 feet) of the perimeter
of the field used to produce certified blackberry stock. Each lot and/or
different cultivars are labeled and separated by a distance of 4.25 meters (14
feet) or a physical barrier that prevents intermingling of roots.
7. Field-produced Certified stock shall not
be harvested beyond one year.
8.
Blossoms shall be removed before blossoms open.
D. Documentation of soil treatments and use
of plant protectants shall be made available to the Board.
E. A map identifying cultivars and lots must
be provided to the Board.
V. Inspections
A. Greenhouse/Screenhouse
1. Grower will regularly inspect plants. All
plants that are symptomatic of disease will be removed and destroyed. The
grower will keep a logbook recording cultivar and number of destroyed plants
and make it available to Board inspectors.
2. Grower will inspect in and around the
greenhouse perimeters to ensure isolation standards are being met.
3. Board inspectors must inspect and approve
any greenhouse that has not been used for successful production of indexed
blackberry plants.
4. During the
production of certified plants, Board inspectors will do at least one
inspection during the growing period when plants are likely to express symptoms
of virus infection, crown and cane gall infections and other disorders. The
Board may conduct additional inspections if deemed necessary.
5. All plants that are of off-types, crown
gall infected, virus infected, or exhibiting virus-like symptoms during
inspections will be flagged by Board inspectors.
6. Grower will remove all flagged plants
immediately after inspection by the Board inspector.
Effective roguing techniques must include removing the
undesirable plant and all of its roots. B. Field
1. The grower should inspect fields regularly
during the growing season and rogue all plants with symptoms of disease, etc.
The Board should be informed if any problems are found.
2. The Board inspector will perform three
inspections of fields for certified plant production;
1) first inspection during April, 2) second
inspection during July, 3) third inspection during October. Additional
inspections may be performed if deemed necessary.
3. All plants that are of off-types, crown
gall infected, virus infected, or exhibiting virus-like symptoms during
inspections will be flagged by Board inspectors.
4. Grower will remove all flagged plants
immediately after inspection by the Board inspector. Effective roguing
techniques must include removing the undesirable plant and all of its roots as
well as all the plants and plant parts within ten feet of the undesirable
plant.
VI. Inspection standards
A. Greenhouse, General Requirements
1. Unit of certification shall be the entire
greenhouse.
2. Isolation:
Non-certified Rubus species must not exist within the
greenhouse. Non-certified Rubus species must not exist within
152 meters (500 feet) of the perimeter of the greenhouse. Weeds that host
disease of major concern must be controlled within 152 meters (500 ft) of the
perimeter of the greenhouse. Insects that vector diseases of major concern
should be controlled in isolation area.
B. Field, General Requirements
1. Unit of certification shall be the field
or a portion of field. Any portion of the field that does not meet inspection
standards may be delimited if it will not jeopardize the remainder of the
field.
2. Isolation: Non-certified
Rubus species must not exist within 152 meters (500 feet) of
the certified plants. Weeds that host diseases of major concern must be
controlled within 152 meters (500 feet) of the certified plants. Insects that
vector diseases of major concern should be controlled in isolation
area.
C. Specific
Greenhouse and Field Tolerance, maximum % of factor
|
Factor
|
Foundation Stock
|
Registered Stock
|
Certified Stock
|
|
Anthracnose
|
0
|
2.0
|
5.0
|
|
Crown and cane gall
|
0
|
0.1
|
1.0
|
|
Nematodes
|
0
|
0.05
|
0.1
|
|
Rust, systemic
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Virus diseases
|
0
|
0.05
|
0.5
|
|
Other diseases
|
0
|
0.2
|
0.5
|
|
Varietal mixture
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Root, cane or crown inhabiting
insects
|
0
|
0.05
|
0.1
|
VII.
General requirements for
plantsA. Growers may sell Foundation,
Registered or Certified stock as certified plants.
B. An official certificate will accompany
each sale of certified Blackberry plants or stock. This certificate will list
the viruses indexed and other details. Each container/plant will be labeled
with variety and certification information.
C. A complete record of the number of
certified Blackberry plant/stock sales will be maintained and made available to
the official certifying agency. The record will include (a) class, (b)
cultivar, (c) date of shipment, (d) number of plants or stock
shipped.
D. General Inspection
Standards for Plants:
1. Apparently free of
biotic and abiotic diseases, insects, and other pests.
2. True-to-variety characteristics.
3. Good leaf color and plant size.
4. Satisfactory plant size to meet the
expectations of the customer.
5.
Plants will not be shipped with non-certified plants.
VIII.
Blackberry
certification feesA. Blackberry
certification application fee. Applicant will be required to obtain a valid
Nurserymans license and pay the required fees as prescribed for the Nurseryman
category. The blackberry certification application and fee is in
addition to the Nurseryman fee. The certification fee is assessed
for the sole purpose of defraying expenses incurred in the additional
inspection and certification requirements protocol. The applicant must furnish
all information requested on the Application for Inspection Form and must allow
the inspector to take samples of plants or plant parts from any certified
planting for inspection and testing purposes. A separate application is
required and a $50.00 fee shall be paid for each cultivar/variety unit entered
for certification. Each lot or field of each cultivator shall be listed
separately on the application. Application for certification inspection for the
following year must be filed with the Arkansas State Plant Board, Post Office
Box 1069, Little Rock, Arkansas 72203 by Oct. 31, accompanied by
the appropriate fees.
B. A grower
desiring to produce certified blackberry plants as herein provided shall
establish with the Board facts evidencing sufficient experience to produce
healthy, high quality stock.
C. The
Board will remove any applicant failing to renew certification by the
designated due date of the certification program. Failure to pay fees by the
designated due date shall also result in removing the applicant from the
certification program.
D. The Board
will not accept applications from growers owing the Board for previous
services.
IX.
Certified planting stock pre-marketing, identification and grade
A. All blackberry planting stock meeting the
requirements of this chapter can be identified by the State Plant Board tag or
stamp issued under by the Board.
B.
All containers must be new and marked with the name and address of the grower,
class of certified stock, variety and lot number.
C. The quality and grading of the stock is
the responsibility of the grower.
X.
Blackberry tagging or stamping and
plant inspectionA. "Certified" stock
shall be identified with the state of Arkansas official certified blackberry
plant tag or stamp under the supervision of the Board after plants have passed
inspection.
B. Only plants meeting
Arkansas standards for blackberry plants shall be tagged or stamped.
C. All containers shall be marked with the
name and address of the grower, grade or class of stock, and variety.
XI
Application of
regulations. This certification program is strictly voluntary and these
regulations shall apply in addition to and do not replace any regulations
covering nursery stock now in effect as covered by Plant Board Circular 11,
"Regulations on Plant Diseases and Pests", nor do they replace or supersede any
requirement of the Arkansas Plant Act of 1917, A.C.A.
2-16-201 thru 214 or the
Arkansas Nursery Fraud Act of 1919, A.C.A.
2-21-101 thru
113.
11.
RULES AND
REGULATIONS FOR THE ARKANSAS BOLL WEEVIL ERADICATION PROGRAM
Section I Purpose.
Pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-605,
the purpose of these rules is to develop and establish procedures for the
eradication of Boll Weevil within and applying uniformly to the whole State of
Arkansas, to establish per acre annual Assessments that offset program costs,
to provide procedures for the collection of such Assessments, to specify
conditions for the movement of regulated articles, and to provide penalties for
violations of these rules.
Section
II
Declaration of Boll Weevil as a Plant Pest.
Pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-602(a),
the Boll Weevil (Anthonomus grandis
Boheman) is declared to be a plant pest and a nuisance, as is any
plant or other regulated article infested therewith or that has been exposed to
infestation and is likely to lead to additional infestation.
Section III
Definitions. For
the purpose of these rules, the following definitions shall apply:
1. " APHIS" means United States Department of
Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
2. "Arkansas Cotton Grower's Organization,
Incorporated, d/b/a Arkansas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation" means the
nonprofit organization comprised of Arkansas Cotton Growers to provide guidance
and assist in policy decisions during the eradication program, and certified by
the Plant Board pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-612.
3. "Assessment" means the amount charged to
each Cotton Grower to finance, in whole or part, a program to suppress or
eradicate the Boll Weevil in this state and calculated on a per-acre basis
pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-614(b).
4. "Boll Weevil" means
Anthonomus grandis
Boheman in any
stage of development.
5. "Boll
Weevil Eradication Program" means the program initiated under Ark. Code Ann.
§
2-16-601 et sea..
6. "Certificate" means a document issued or
authorized by the Plant Board indicating that a regulated article is not
contaminated with Boll Weevils.
7.
"Grower's Compliance Certificate" means a document issued or authorized by the
Plant Board indicating that a Cotton Grower has complied with the requirements
of these rules and the Cotton Grower's cotton may be ginned in
Arkansas.
8. "Compliance Agreement"
means a written agreement required between the Plant Board and any person
engaged in growing cotton, dealing in, or moving regulated articles wherein the
latter agrees to comply with specified provisions to prevent dissemination of
the Boll Weevil.
9. "Cotton" means
any cotton plant or cotton plant product upon which the Boll Weevil is
dependent for completion of any portion of its life cycle.
10. "Cotton Grower" means any person, other
than a cash rent landlord, who is engaged in or has as economic risk in the
business of producing, or causing cotton to be produced, for market.
11. "Eradication Zone" means a geographical
area designated by the Plant Board in which the Boll Weevil Eradication
Programs will be undertaken and managed pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-610.
12. "Exposed" means any area or location
subjected to Boll Weevil infestation.
13. "Gin Trash" means all waste material
produced during the cleaning and ginning of seed cotton. It does not include
the lint, cottonseed, or gin waste.
14. "Gin Waste" means all forms of
unmanufactured cotton fiber (including gin motes) produced at cotton gins,
other than baled cotton lint.
15.
"Infested" means actually infested with a Boll Weevil or so exposed to
infestation that it would be reasonable to believe that an infestation
exists.
16. "Inspector" means any
employee of the Plant Board or any other person authorized by the Plant Board
to enforce the provision of these rules.
17. "Non-Commercial Cotton" means cotton
intended for any purposes other than sale or scientific purposes under Section
XII of these rules.
18. "Permit"
means a document issued or authorized by the Plant Board to provide for the
movement of regulated articles to restricted designation for limited handling,
utilization, or processing.
19.
"Person" means any individual, partnership, corporation, company, society, or
association, or other business entity.
20. "Plant Board" means the Arkansas State
Plant Board, which is the agricultural plant regulatory agency of the State of
Arkansas.
21. "Quarantine Area"
means any portion of the State of Arkansas designated as such pursuant to Ark.
Code Ann. §
2-16-609.
22. "Regulated Area" means any portion of an
eradication zone designated for any purpose necessary to the execution of the
Boll Weevil Eradication Program.
23. "Regulated Article" means any article of
any character carrying or capable of carrying the Boll Weevil, including, but
not limited to, cotton plants, seed cotton, cottonseed, other hosts, gin trash,
gin equipment, mechanical cotton pickers, and other equipment associated with
cotton production, harvesting, or processing.
24. "Seed Cotton" means cotton as it comes
from the field prior to ginning.
25. "Shipment or Shipments" means the items
to be transferred or moved, or the act or process of transferring or moving
items from one point to another.
26. "USDA" means the United States Department
of Agriculture.
27. "Used Cotton
Equipment" means any equipment used previously to harvest, strip, transport or
process cotton.
28. "Waiver" means
a written authorization which exempts a Person or any organization from
compliance with one or more requirements of these rules.
Section IV
Eradication Zones.
The eradication zones for the State of Arkansas are defined as follows:
Southwest Zone shall consist of the following
counties: Bradley, Calhoun, Clark, Cleveland, Columbia, Dallas, Garland, Grant,
Hempstead, Hot Springs, Howard, Lafayette, Little River, Miller, Montgomery,
Nevada, Ouachita, Pike, Polk, Saline, Scott, Sevier, and Union.
Southeast Zone shall consist of the following
counties: Arkansas, Ashley, Chicot, Conway, Crawford, Desha (that portion lying
south of the Arkansas river), Drew, Faulkner, Franklin, Jackson, Jefferson,
Johnson, Lincoln, Logan, Lonoke, Perry, Phillips, Pope, Prairie, Pulaski,
Sebastian, St. Francis, Woodruff, and Yell.
Central Zone Area lshall consist of the following
counties: Baxter, Benton, Boone, Carroll, Cleburne, Desha (that portion lying
north of the Arkansas river), Fulton, Izard, Lawrence, Lee, Madison, Marion,
Monroe, Newton, Poinsett ((that portion lying east of the St. Francis River
(administered as central zone but operationally handled as part of the
Northeast Ridge zone)), Randolph, Searcy, Sharp, Stone, Van Buren, Washington
and White.
Central Zone Area 2 shall consist of the following
counties: Crittenden, Cross, and Independence.
Northeast Ridge Zone shall consist of the
following counties: Clay, Craighead (that portion lying west of the St. Francis
river), Green and Poinsett (that portion lying west of the St. Francis
river.)
Northeast Delta Zone shall consist of the
following counties: Craighead (that portion lying east of the St. Francis
river) and Mississippi.
Zones have been designated in accordance with the Boll Weevil
Eradication and Suppression Act (Ark. Code Ann. §§
2-16-601
etseq.)
Section V
Submission of Reporting Forms, Assessments, Penalties for Late Payment,
Cotton Destruction, and Exemptions.1.
Pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-608, upon passage of
the grower referendum, all Cotton Growers in the eradication zones shall be
required to participate in the eradication program as set forth herein.
Pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-610,
where mandated, all Cotton Growers in an eradication zone shall be required to
participate in the eradication program as set forth herein.
2.
Cotton Acreage
Reporting. Each Cotton Grower shall submit annual cotton acreage
reporting information, listing the acreage and location of all cotton being
grown by the Cotton Grower in this state. Personnel of the Cotton Grower's
Organization will be responsible for determining by use of global positioning
systems or other appropriate technology the exact amount of acreage planted by
individual growers.
3. Cotton
Acreage. Cotton Growers shall report their cotton acreage to the Plant Board,
or its designated agent, no later than June 15 of each year in which field
operations of the Boll Weevil Eradication Program are in effect in their
eradication zone ("Cotton Acreage"). The Plant Board may formulate and
institute a method of assessing and collecting the fees associated with the
Cotton Acreage. Any Cotton Grower who fails to file the Cotton Acreage report
in the manner prescribed by the Plant Board by June 15 shall be subject to a
penalty of up to Three Dollars ($3.00) per acre. Failure to pay the cotton
acreage assessment could result in late payment fees of Three Dollars ($3.00)
per acre if payment is not received by the deadline set by the
invoice.
4. Assessments. The per
acre Assessment shall be as determined by the applicable referendum or by
action of the State Plant Board. The per acre Assessment payable by the Cotton
Grower shall be based on the Cotton Grower's Cotton Acreage report. As of the
date of these rules, the Assessment for each eradication zone may be or have
been up to the amounts shown below.
|
Southwest
|
Southeast
|
Central 1
|
Central 2
|
NE Ridge*
|
NE Delta
|
|
Year 1
|
$15.00
|
$15.00
|
$15.00
|
$15.00
|
$10.00
|
$8.00
|
|
Year 2
|
$35.00
|
$35.00
|
$30.00
|
$25.00
|
$25.00
|
$14.00
|
|
Year 3
|
$35.00
|
$30.00
|
$35.00
|
$30.00
|
$24.00
|
$14.00
|
|
Year 4
|
$25.00
|
$35.00
|
$35.00
|
$30.00
|
$24.00
|
$TBD
|
|
Year 5
|
$20.00
|
$35.00
|
$35.00
|
$30.00
|
$22.00
|
$TBD
|
* NE Ridge Zone (E. Poinsett assessment is same as NE Ridge but
instituted a year later.)
During the years (the maintenance period) following the years
specified above, the per acre annual Assessment in the Southwest Zone shall not
exceed $10 per acre, and the per acre annual assessment in the Southeast and
Central Zones shall not exceed $12 per acre. Maintenance assessments in the NE
Ridge zone shall not exceed $8 per acre. Establishment of a maintenance program
in the N E Delta zone will be determined at the end of the eradication
program.
Upon recommendation of the Arkansas Cotton Grower's
Organization, Inc., the Plant Board may adjust the annual Assessments within
the limits allowed by the referendum then in effect. In the NE Delta zone,
annual assessments will be established by Plant Board action. Assessments for
2011 and possibly for additional years, will be set at $14.00 per acre. Such
Adjustments may be made at the time and in the manner determined by the Plant
Board to be in the best interest of the Boll Weevil Eradication Program. In
making such adjustments, the Plant Board may consider facts and information it
determines to be relevant, including, but not limited to, climate and
environmental conditions, finances and the overall state of the cotton
industry.
5.
Collection of Assessments. Assessments shall be
payable by the Cotton Grower in one (1) installment, as provided below:
(a) The payment shall be paid by the payment
date established by the appropriate invoice. The payment shall be an amount
equal to the Cotton Grower's Cotton Acreage multiplied by the per acre
assessment fee or such amount as is established by the appropriate invoice.
Cotton Growers in the Southwest, Southeast, Central, and NE Ridge zones shall
make such payments payable to the "Arkansas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation"
and cotton growers in the NE Delta zone shall make payments to "Arkansas State
Plant Board" and deliver the payment to the Plant Board, or its designated
agent, no later than the payment date established by the invoice, of each year
in which such Assessments are payable. Cotton Growers who fail to make the
payment by the payment date established by the invoice, shall be subject to a
penalty of up to Three Dollars ($3.00) per acre for unpaid acreage, based on
planted cotton acreage.
(b) An
Assessment will be paid by one person. That person, the producer (the person
responsible for planning, managing and/or performing the cultural practices
associated with producing the crop), or their respective attorney-in-fact,
shall execute the applicable reports prescribed by these rules. All billing
information must be provided, by producers to Cotton Growers Organization
employees who will be collecting assessment invoicing information. The
information will be recorded by the Cotton Growers Organization employee on a
form developed specifically for this purpose. The producer is responsible for
insuring that information delivered to the Plant Board is correct. The Producer
is held ultimately responsible for payment of the assessment and will be
subject to appropriate penalties and late fees if assessments are not received.
Grower's Compliance Certificates, described below, shall not be issued until
the entire Assessment, and any applicable penalty, is paid as
required.
(c) In the event a Cotton
Grower fails to pay Assessments and/or penalties as required under these rules,
pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-617(c)
and (d)(2), the Plant Board may file a lien
with the appropriate county office and the Arkansas Secretary of State on the
cotton, subject to such assessments, and on the Cotton Grower's subsequent
cotton crops until all such amounts are paid in full.
6.
Cotton
Destruction. Pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §§
2-16-610(e)
and
2-16-617(a),
any Cotton Grower who fails to pay all Assessments and/or penalties within
thirty (30) days after notice from the Plant Board shall, upon direction of the
Plant Board, destroy all cotton plants in which the Cotton Grower has an
interest and which are subject to Assessment. Any such cotton plant not
destroyed shall be deemed a public nuisance. The Plant Board may apply to any
court of competent jurisdiction for the issuance of a judgment and order for
condemnation and destruction of the nuisance. The Cotton Grower shall be liable
for all court costs, fees, and other expenses incurred in any action taken
under this paragraph 9.
7.
Grower's Compliance Certificate. Pursuant to Ark. Code
Ann. §
2-16-617(d),
no gins in the State of Arkansas shall gin any cotton grown in an eradication
zone in which field operations of the Boll Weevil Eradication Program are in
effect, or from any other state, unless and until that Cotton Grower files with
the gin a Grower's Compliance Certificate issued by the Plant Board certifying
that said Cotton Grower has paid all fees, Assessments, penalties, and costs
imposed and required pursuant to §
2-16-601 et seq., as
amended, or proof of exemption there from as provided in paragraph 12 below. It
is the responsibility of each Cotton Grower to procure a Grower's Compliance
Certificate for the crop year for each FSA farm number on which cotton is
planted, or proof that an exemption for compliance has been granted from the
Plant Board. The Cotton Grower must file the Grower's Compliance Certificate
with their gin each crop year.
8.
Ginner's Penalty. Any gin that gins cotton for any
Cotton Grower who has not filed a current valid Grower's Compliance Certificate
or proof of exemption issued by the Plant Board shall be subject to a penalty
in the amount of $50.00 per bale for each bale ginned for such non-complying
Cotton Grower. This provision does not prohibit the movement of seed cotton
within the State of Arkansas for protection from loss or efficient storage
prior to ginning.
9.
Exemption Due to Hardship. Pursuant to Ark. Code Ann.
§ 2-16-217(e), Cotton Growers may apply for exemption from payment of any
Assessment or penalty imposed by these rules, on the basis that such payment
will impose undue financial hardship on the Cotton Grower. Criteria for
hardship may include, but are not limited to, (a) late or unavailable financing
through no fault of the Cotton Grower, (b) regional economic conditions, and
(c) regional climate/environmental conditions.
Any Cotton Grower who wishes to request an exemption from
payment of the Assessment or the penalty or both shall apply for the exemption
on forms prescribed by the Plant Board. Except for instances beyond the control
of the Cotton Grower, the application for this exemption must be received by
the Plant Board at least thirty (30) days before the due date of the Assessment
for which exemption is requested. A separate application must be filed for each
calendar year for which the Cotton Grower seeks an exemption. Each such
application shall contain information on which the Cotton Grower relies to
justify an exemption on the basis of undue financial hardship. In the event the
application for exemption is not filed within the time prescribed herein, the
application shall include information that describes the circumstances that
prevented a timely filing. The application form shall include an oath or
affirmation of the applicant as to the truth of all information contained in or
accompanying the application.
The Plant Board shall forward each completed exemption
application form and any information accompanying the form to the Arkansas
Cotton Grower's Organization, Inc. The Arkansas Cotton Grower's Organization,
Inc. shall determine whether each applicant qualifies for a hardship exemption
based on the information contained in or accompanying the application form. If
the Arkansas Cotton Grower's Organization, Inc. determines that the payment of
the Assessment or the penalty or both would impose undue financial hardship on
a Cotton Grower who has applied for an exemption, the Arkansas Cotton Grower's
Organization, Inc. may (1) exempt the Cotton Grower from payment of the
Assessment or the penalty or both, or (2) permit the Cotton Grower to pay the
Assessment or penalty or both on an installment payment plan and prescribe the
payment schedule.
Upon making a determination on any application for exemption,
the Arkansas Cotton Grower's Organization, Inc. shall notify the Plant Board of
its determination, which shall be binding on the applicant. The Plant Board
shall then promptly notify the affected Cotton Grower in writing of the
determination. If an exemption is denied, the Assessment and penalties for the
year in which the application is made will be due at the time they would
otherwise have been due if the application had not been filed, or within thirty
(30) days after the date of the notice of the determination, whichever is
later.
10.
Penalties. The Plant Board shall assess Cotton Growers
penalties for failure to comply with the reporting and/or payment requirements
of these Regulations. Penalties are payable in full to the Arkansas Boll Weevil
Eradication Foundation within thirty (30) days of the date of the penalty
assessment. Any such penalties assessed must be paid before the Plant Board may
issue a Grower's Compliance Certificate under Section V, Paragraph 10 of these
Regulations. Penalties must be paid as provided herein even if the Cotton
Grower appeals the penalty under subparagraph 14 below.
11.
Appeal of
Penalties. Unless specifically provided for elsewhere in these
rules, any person (Cotton Grower, gin or otherwise) assessed a penalty under
these rules may appeal the penalty assessment to the Plant Board within thirty
(30) days of the date of the penalty assessment. Such appeal must include all
information upon which the appealing party bases its appeal. The Plant Board
Director may revoke, modify, or affirm the penalty and shall rule on the appeal
within forty-five (45) days of the Plant Board's receipt of the appeal. The
Director's ruling shall be in writing and mailed to the appealing party via
first class United States mail. Any refunds due on the penalty assessment shall
be paid promptly in compliance with the applicable fiscal rules and
regulations. The Director may seek the recommendation of the Arkansas Cotton
Grower's Organization on any appeals under this Paragraph 14. Provided,
however, any such recommendation from the Arkansas Cotton Grower's Organization
shall not be binding on the Plant Board Director.
12.
Limit on
Penalties. Section V provides for various penalties in connection
with reporting acreage and paying assessments, each of which is a separate
violation and cause for penalty. Notwithstanding the type of penalties imposed
under Section V, the total amount of penalties assessed against a particular
Cotton Grower shall not exceed $15.00 per acre of cotton for the crop year and
acreage in issue.
Section
VI
Cotton Stalk Destruction Incentive. If during the
Boll Weevil Eradication Program seasonal growing conditions promote early
maturation and harvesting of cotton in Arkansas, the Plant Board may, upon
recommendation from the Arkansas Cotton Grower's Organization, Inc., establish
a per acre incentive credit for early stalk destruction. Such incentive credit
shall be applied to the Cotton Grower's Assessment for the following year. In
the event a Cotton Grower's Certified Acreage in the following year is not
sufficient to fully consume the incentive credit in such following year, the
Cotton Grower may apply to the Plant Board for a refund of the unused incentive
credit, using forms prescribed by the Plant Board. The rate per acre of any
such incentive credit, whether uniform for the entire State, or variable, shall
be established and made available to all participating Cotton Growers no later
than September 1 of the current growing year. No incentive credit established
under this paragraph shall be credited or paid to the Cotton Grower by the
Plant Board until the date of the Cotton Grower's stalk destruction has been
confirmed to the Plant Board by eradication program personnel.
Section VII
Planting Cotton in the
Eradication Zone.1.
Prohibited Planting. Pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-610(b)(l),
the Plant Board may prohibit the planting of cotton in designated areas where
Boll Weevil eradication treatments cannot be effectively or legally applied due
to factors concerning the public welfare if determined by the Plant Board that
planting cotton jeopardizes the success of the program (Prohibited Planting
Area). The Plant Board shall identify all Prohibited Planting Areas no later
than March 1 of each year. Notice of the Prohibited Planting Area shall be
published in a local newspaper of general circulation covering the Prohibited
Planting Area at least once a week for four (4) consecutive weeks in the month
of March. In the event a Prohibited Planting Area is not designated by March 1
of the year in issue, the Plant Board's purchase or destruction of cotton shall
be in accordance with Section IX below.
2.
Notice of
Destruction. Pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-611(b),
the Plant Board may by written order require the destruction of cotton planted
in a Prohibited Planting Area after publication of the first notice required in
paragraph 1 above. Said order shall be delivered to the Cotton Grower via
certified United States mail. The order shall identify the cotton to be
destroyed by Township, Range, and Section, or portion thereof. The order shall
specify the date by which the Cotton Grower must destroy the crop at the Cotton
Grower's expense, which date shall be at least ten (10) calendar days after the
date of the order. The order shall further state that in the event the Cotton
Grower does not destroy the cotton by the specified date, the Plant Board will
destroy the cotton and assess the cost of destruction against the Cotton
Grower. The Assessment under this section shall be payable within thirty (30)
calendar days after destruction and shall be treated as any Assessment for
purpose of enforcing these rules. Provided, however, the Cotton Grower may
appeal an order under this paragraph to the Director of the Plant Board. The
appeal must be received by the Plant Board within ten (10) calendar days of the
date of the order. The Director of the Plant Board shall issue an order on the
appeal within ten (10) calendar days of the Plant Board's receipt of the
appeal.
3.
Non-Commercial Cotton. Non-commercial cotton shall not
be planted in an eradication zone in which field operations of the Boll Weevil
Eradication Program are in effect without a waiver issued in writing by the
Plant Board. Application for a waiver shall be submitted in writing and the
Plant Board's decision to grant or deny the waiver may be based on the
following:
(a) Location of growing
area;
(b) Pest conditions in the
growing area;
(c) Size of the
growing area;
(d) Accessibility of
the growing area; and
(e) Any
stipulations set forth in a compliance agreement between the applicant and the
Plant Board that are necessary to the Boll Weevil Eradication
Program.
Section
VIII
Treatment of Boll Weevil in the Eradication Zones.
The eradication of the Boll Weevil in an eradication zone shall be in
accordance with the USDA National Boll Weevil Cooperative Control Program and
shall be executed by the Plant Board and the Arkansas Cotton Grower's
Organization, Inc., with the assistance of the USDA Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service. The Final Environmental Impact Statement, dated 1991,
issued by the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for the National
Boll Weevil Cooperative Program is incorporated into these rules.
Section IX
Purchase of Cotton for
Effectuation of Program Objectives. Pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-611(a),
in the event Prohibited Planting Areas are not identified by the date
prescribed in Section VII above, or the Plant Board otherwise determines it to
be in the best interest of the Boll Weevil Eradication Program, the Plant Board
or the Arkansas Cotton Grower's Organization, Inc. may purchase growing cotton.
The Arkansas Cotton Grower's Organization, Inc. shall determine the purchase
price for such cotton. After such purchase, the Plant Board may manage or
dispose of the purchased cotton as it determines best. If the Cotton Grower
objects to the purchase price determined by the Arkansas Cotton Grower's
Organization, Inc., the Cotton Grower may appeal the determination to the Plant
Board within 15 days of the date of such determination. Such appeal must
include all information upon which the appealing Cotton Grower bases its
appeal. The Plant Board Director shall rule on the appeal within thirty (30)
days of the Plant Board's receipt of the appeal. The Director's ruling shall be
in writing and mailed to the Cotton Grower and the Arkansas Cotton Grower's
Organization, Inc. via first class United States mail.
Section X
Quarantine.
Establishing Quarantine. In carrying out the
purpose of these rules, the Plant Board may designate a quarantine area in
accordance Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-609.
Section XI
Issuance of Certificates
and Compliance Agreements, Cancellations, Attachments and Cotton Gin
Certificates. Certificates may be issued for the movement of regulated
articles from, into or through a regulated area, as determined to be necessary
by the Plant Board.
Section XI
I Scientific Purposes. All cotton planted within the state of
Arkansas notwithstanding the size of the acreage or plant is subject to the
coverage of these rules, provided, however, the Plant Board may designate
experimental areas for experiments designed to contribute to the development of
scientific knowledge deemed of importance to the production of cotton. Cotton
Growers in designated experimental areas and affected thereby, may be exempted
from specified requirements of these rules, provided, however, that such Cotton
Growers abide by a Compliance Agreement applicable to the experimental
areas.
Section XI
II Entry of
Authorized Personnel Upon Properties. Pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-607(b),
Plant Board personnel are authorized to inspect any fields or premises and any
property located therein or thereon for the purpose of determining whether such
property is infested with the Boll Weevil. Such inspections must be conducted
between sunrise and sunset. Such inspections include, but are not limited to,
taking of specimens, examining and obtaining records, and applying or
supervising treatments to the soil, plants or any regulated articles. This may
include removal and destruction of plants, plant parts, or other regulated
articles.
Section XIV
Restricting Access to Eradication Zone and Regulated Area. Pursuant to
Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-605,
the Plant Board may issue rules that restrict entry by unauthorized persons or
any other activities affecting, or affected by, the Boll Weevil Eradication
Program on any premises in an eradication zone or in any regulated area.
12.
FOREST TREE SEEDLING
FUMIGATION.1) All forest tree
seedlings shall meet the requirements of all applicable state and federal plant
pest quarantines.
2) All certified
tree seedlings offered for sale or imported under permit into the State of
Arkansas shall meet the following requirements:
a. Seedlings shipped within and into the
state used for aforestation and reforestation shall be healthy vigorous stock
and must be apparently free of injurious plant pests, including but not limited
to infectious diseases, nematodes, insects, and quarantined pests.
b. To aid in ensuring apparent freedom from
injurious plant pests, the grower shall make appropriate use of approved
pesticides or other alternate practices during the growing of planting stock.
This includes, but is not limited to, a pre-sowing tarped soil application of
methyl bromide.
c. All plants shall
be field inspected by the state plant inspector prior to the initiation of
lifting operations.
13.
REGULATIONS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF
RICE HAVING COMMERCIAL IMPACT
These regulations are established to carry out the provisions
as specified in Act 1238 (An Act to Assign To The Arkansas State Plant Board
Specified Powers, Duties and Responsibilities, Including The Duty To Develop
And Enforce Regulations Relating To Rice Identified As Having Characteristics
Of Commercial Impact; And For Other Purposes.)
I. Definitions.
a. Rice - plants and grain from plants of the
genus Oryza.
b.
Characteristics of Commercial Impact -Characteristics that may adversely affect
the marketability of rice in the event of commingling with any other rice and
includes, but is not limited to those characteristics:
(A) That cannot be identified without the aid
of specialized equipment or testing;
(B) That create a significant economic impact
in their removal from commingled rice; and
(C) Whose removal from commingled rice is not
feasible.
c. Commingle -
the mixing of two or more quantities of grain that have different
characteristics. These characters may or may not have direct commercial value
but may have an effect on the commercial value of the total commingled
lot.
d. Characteristic -a chemical
component (including the plant DNA), physical appearance, physical structure or
other ingredient that could adversely affect the production and marketing for
potential profit by persons involved in crop production.
e. Producer - a person, corporation,
partnership, association or other legal entity involved in the production of a
crop for the purpose of placing the harvest of that crop in commerce.
f State Plant Board - the agency
charged with developing and enforcing regulations relative to, but not limited
to, matters affecting agricultural plant production,
g. Certification - in the context of these
regulations, shall mean the approval of specific varieties, strains, selections
or lots of rice for production in the state,
h. Scientific Review Committee - a group of
individuals each of whom is known by the Plant Board Director to have knowledge
of scientific, industrial or business elements that would aid in the evaluation
of the material under consideration,
i. Research - activities that involve growing
rice plants, harvesting rice grain and/or performing chemical, mechanical or
other pertinent operations on the plants and/or grain in order to accurately
measure/define/develop the characteristics exhibited by the
material.
II. Product
Ownership a. Ownership of the characteristic with commercial impact must be
declared in documents filed with the Plant Board. The appropriate forms for
making such declaration will be provided by the Plant Board. All regulatory
activities will be handled through that declared owner or such other person or
entity as dictated by the owner.
III. Eligibility Requirements
a. Eligibility requirements are such that a
detailed description of the morphological, physiological and other
characteristics that distinguish it from other varieties or related processes
must be provided to the Plant Board. A suitable test for the purposes of
detection/validation of the proposed characteristic must be provided.
Information, designated as Confidential Business Information, collected in the
process of administering these regulations will be considered exempt from
Freedom Of Information Act due to the Trademark Exclusion contained in that
act.
b. Rice possessing
characteristics of commercial impact must have been registered and received
commercial production approval from all appropriate federal agencies that have
regulatory interest in the characteristics. These agencies include but may not
be limited to 1 Environmental Protection Agency, 2)Department of Agriculture,
3)Food and Drug Administration.
c.
Any variety, line, strain or other designated selection of rice that had ever
required a USDA or other agency permit for research or production will be
required to submit to these regulations.
d. Eligibility for research exemption will be
determined by the Plant Board through a review of laboratory management
practices and production protocols by Plant Board staff.
IV. Scientific Review Committee
a. A Scientific Review Committee may be
appointed by The Plant Board to evaluate applications received under these
regulations. The Scientific Review Committee shall consist of producers, not
employed by or be on the board of any other entity represented on the
committee, scientists from Arkansas educational entities, such as colleges and
universities or the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service;
representative(s) of rice mills operating in Arkansas; representative(s) from
the regulated companies; representative(s) of merchandisers located in
Arkansas; the director of the Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center; and
the Director of the Arkansas State Plant Board shall be a permanent ex-officio
standing member of the committee.
b.
The committee shall review and make recommendations to the board concerning,
but not limited to:
1) Identifying rice that
has characteristics of commercial impact;
2) Reviewing rice identified as having
characteristics of commercial impact upon receipt of a petition from the
purveyor of the rice;
3)
Recommending rules establishing terms and conditions for planting, producing,
harvesting, selling, transporting, processing, storing, or otherwise handling
rice identified pursuant to c, 1 of this paragraph, and 4) Reviewing the
efficacy of terms, condition, and identity preservation programs imposed on the
planting, producing, harvesting, transporting, drying, storing, or other
handling of rice identified under section c, 1 of this paragraph using the most
current industry standards and generally accepted scientific
principles.
c. The
criterion for evaluation for suitability for production shall encompass but not
necessarily be limited to:
1). The
characteristic of economic impact;
2). Potential impact of characteristic on
value of other crops;
3). Potential
for accidental introduction of characteristic into other crops;
4). Quantity of production
requested;
5). Benefit expected to
be brought to society from the characteristic;
6). Ability of the owner of the
characteristic to comply with all regulations;
7). Ability of the owner of the
characteristic to bear financial obligations for fees, fines and regulatory
costs if contaminations are discovered; and 8)Other concerns arising in the
committee deliberations.
V. Fees
a.
An application fee will be charged to each owner/applicant for each and every
characteristic considered, even if the same characteristic had been previously
considered for the same or different applicant.
b. The application fee will be established at
One Thousand ($1000.00) Dollars and will be due with the appropriate form when
application is made to the Plant Board for consideration of
production.
c. The application fee
is non-refundable in the event the production application is denied or the
application abandoned.
d. Fees will
be charged for each applicable inspection that is required to comply with these
regulations.
e. Inspection fees
will be established at One Hundred ($100.00) Dollars per visit. One
re-inspection will be provided (for a specific visit) at no additional charge
if the initial inspection detects conditions that result in an order to cease
operations. Additional inspections that are required due to failure to correct
unacceptable conditions will be assessed an inspection charge equal to the
initial inspection fee for each and every visit made by the inspector. The
frequency of these re-inspections will be determined by the Plant Board. The
re-inspections will be scheduled to insure compliance with the regulations and
permit conditions.
f Any rice
developed at Public Institutions and/or the research programs from those
institutions shall not be subject to application fees as referenced in section
(a) above but will adhere to all other items in these
regulations.
VI. Permits
a. Production Permit. Application for a
production permit shall be made to the Plant Board sufficiently in advance
(minimum of four (4) months) of the expected first planting to allow full
evaluation by Plant Board staff and, if deemed appropriate by the Plant Board
Director, by a Scientific Review Committee.
b. Permit Application Form. The appropriate
form will be supplied by the Plant Board for making the application.
c. Functional Permits. Depending on the
characteristic of economic impact, a determination may be made by the Plant
Board Director that other functions, such as planting, harvesting,
transporting, processing and storage, associated with the production of rice
having the characteristic, may also need to be permitted. To accommodate this
effort, the owner of the characteristic of economic impact should be prepared
to identify all parties that are expected to handle any of the rice in any form
or function.
d. Fees for Functional
Permits. Functions that are deemed to present a risk of causing/allowing a
cross contamination to occur and as a result necessitate inspections, may be
required to pay a fee for securing the permit and for having the inspections
made.
e. Restrictions specific to
the characteristic of economic impact will be contained in the
permit.
VII. Violations
a. Failure to secure permit. Failure to
secure a permit prior to engaging in activities to initiate any facet of the
process of production of a crop, including but not limited to:
1). Marketing of planting seed;
2). Movement of any viable seed containing a
target characteristic into Arkansas;
3). Movement of viable seed from storage to
an area that might support production of the crop;
4). Placement of a seed lot (bulk, bagged or
tote) into any type storage facility in Arkansas;
5). Planting (or placement of viable seed
into contact with any substance that might support germination and growth of
the resulting plants), will be considered a violation.
b. Non-adherence to any and all conditions of
an issued permit, any of the published regulations and any section of the
enabling legislation will be considered a violation.
c. Penalties for Violations. Penalties will
be administered according to the provisions contained in §
2-15-208 of ACT 1238.
The appended Penalty Matrix (Appendix A) outlines the violations and the
appropriate penalty for each of those violations. Each day of a continuing
violation will be considered a separate violation.
d. Level of Violation. Violations may be
judged to be of Major or Minor level for enforcement actions. The enforcement
level classification will be determined by any of the following factors
individually or in combination: l)length of time violation occurred before
permit was issued (30 days or more is major); 2)nature of the characteristic
involved; 3)economic consequences resulting from violation (impacts of more
than $1000.00 are major); 4)number of entities impacted by violation (more than
3 would be major); 5)quantity of previously approved rice impacted by the
violation (more than 500 bushels would be major); 6)other factors deemed
appropriate by the State Plant Board Director.
VIII. 2011 Planting Seed Testing a. All seed
(including pre-commercial lots of seed, commonly known as breeder seed or
parental lines of hybrids prior to production of Foundation Grade seed) used
for any planting in 2011 shall undergo testing prior to April 1, 2011 for the
purpose of identifying seed lots that contain variants of LLRice.
1. Testing Labs. All seed samples shall be
submitted to a lab that has validated the 35S bar test.
2. Sampling. Any seed sample collected for
the purpose of complying with these regulations must be "officially drawn"
samples under supervision of Plant Board Inspectors or an employee of another
state's AOSCA member. The Plant Board (or cooperating state representative)
shall be responsible for submitting the samples for testing, receiving and
disbursing test results and maintaining the chain of custody of the samples
throughout the sampling and testing process.
3. Seed Source. Any seed anticipated to be
used for planting rice must be tested. Seed produced inside Arkansas as well as
any seed produced in other states but entering Arkansas through a purchase must
be sampled and tested. Purchased seed from other states that has undergone
testing under the same protocol as outlined in these regulations and receiving
a "not detected within the specified detection limits" and has documentation to
present the results shall be exempt from additional testing. All lots of seed,
be they bagged or in bulk, shall be subject to these regulations.
3a. Carryover Seed. Any seed tested in a
previous year in a manner compliant with these regulations, held in a sealed
bag, is not required to undergo new GMO testing. Any seed, to be used for
planting, held over in any container, structure or vessel that is open and/or
would not prevent introduction of untested seed (such as but not limited to
bins, tote bags, superbags, open barrels, grain trucks, grain wagons, or grain
carts) must be re-sampled and undergo current year testing.
4. Participation. Entities having seed, saved
from their own production, that is to be used for planting seed, are
responsible for contacting the Plant Board and requesting having a sample
collected for submission for testing.
5. Testing. The testing protocol (commonly
referred to as the 3 5 S bar test) shall be conducted by a lab that uses a
validated protocol.
6. Detection
Level. Testing shall be conducted to effect detection at the .01% level with a
95% confidence interval. Any sample that has a detection in any portion of the
submitted sample shall be ruled as being positive or having a detection within
the detection limits.
7. Records
Retention. Sample submission forms, results reports and any other records
developed in carrying out this testing, shall be retained by the applicant
(those entities owning and having the seed lot submitted for testing) and made
available for review upon request by a authorized representative of the
Arkansas State Plant Board.
8.
Transfer of Seed. Copies of testing results for individual lots of seed shall
be provided to anyone who purchases any portion of the tested lot. Results for
all lots, of which any portion was purchased, shall be provided to the
purchaser.
9. Authorized for Sale.
Any lot of seed tested, utilizing proper protocols, that received a "not
detected within the specified detection limits" result, shall be legal for
sale.
10. Failed Seed. Any lot of
seed that tests "detected within the specified detection limits" for LLRice
shall immediately be removed from the seed market and must be moved through the
grain marketing channels with proper identification as containing GMO
characteristics or be destroyed.
11. Exemption. "Specialty" rice producers and
millers who handle ONLY those rice varieties with characteristics, such as
aromatic qualities, that do not enter the grain marketing channels may be
exempt from these regulations under specific conditions (including but maybe
not limited to):
a. Their seed source can be
documented and verified.
b. Records
that confirm the specialty rice will not enter the long grain market
channels.
IX.
Rough Rice Testing. Testing of rough rice produced from crops planted with seed
subjected to the prescribed testing may be carried out in the normal course of
commerce. All positive detections arising from that testing shall be forwarded
to the Plant Board. Any and all records pertaining to post harvest rough rice
testing by any entity, business or individual, shall be made available to the
Plant Board upon request.
a. Upon notification
of a positive test on post harvest rough rice, the Plant Board will immediately
initiate an investigation to determine if the source of the LLRice can be
isolated.
b. Records relating to
testing of planting seed will be reviewed and the testing lab will be contacted
to confirm results in hand.
1. Any errors
found in the testing and reporting on the planting seed will be subject to
review by the Plant Board and consideration of assessment of civil penalties as
outlined in the Enforcement Response Penalty Matrix.
c. The receiving facility, of the positive
post harvest rough rice, will be asked to follow any USDA protocol for handling
positive rough rice that insures proper disposition/usage of that lot of rough
rice.
X. Random Testing.
The Plant Board may undertake random sampling of grain holding facilities
(including but not limited to farm storage, seed bins or elevator grain bins)
and in seed facilities to enforce the prohibition on planting seed with LL
traits.
SECTION
VIII.
QUARANTINES
1
GYPSY MOTH QUARANTINE
Revoked December 9, 1983 after two (2) successive years of
negative annual surveys.
2
IMPORTED FIRE ANT QUARANTINE
Whereas, it has been determined, and so declared, that a
serious insect pest, the imported fire ant, (Solenopsis saevissima
richteri Forel), is known to exist in Arkansas, and is known to be a
serious pest of humans, crops, livestock, and wildlife.
Whereas, the fire ant may be disseminated by the transportation
or movement of the following products or substances:
(a) soil and unprocessed sand or gravel,
separately or with other things, (b) forest, field, or nursery-grown woody or
herbaceous plants with soil attached, (c) plants in pots or containers, (d)
grass sod, (e) unmanufactured forest products such as stump wood or timbers if
soil is attached, (f) any product or substance which may hereafter be found
capable of spreading the imported fire ant.
a.
Movement of said products or substances from areas which are now or may
hereafter be designated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as imported fire
ant regulated areas is prohibited except under regulations which have been or
may hereafter be made by the U. S. Department of Agriculture.
b. Areas which are found infested or which
are so situated as to be subj ect to infestation with the imported fire ant
must be treated to eradicate it. In lieu of requiring the property to be
treated by the owner, or at the owner's expense, the Board may elect to apply
the treatment, in cooperation with USDA at no cost to the owners. Property
owners will be notified when treatment is to begin through newspapers, radio,
television, and by personal contact where feasible.
3
PEACH MOSAIC
QUARANTINE
Revoked November 10, 1972, after eight (8) successive years of
negative annual surveys.
4
PHONY PEACH DISEASE QUARANTINE
Standard State Quarantine Order No. 2, as Revised June
13,1951
Effective on and after July 2,1951
DISEASE: Phony Peach, a vims disease of peach and certain other
stone fruits. State and Counties Currently Affected by Phony Peach
Disease
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Alabama:
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Entire State
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Florida:
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Entire State
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Georgia:
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Entire State
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Louisiana:
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Entire State
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Mississippi:
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Entire State
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Arkansas:
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Counties of Arkansas, Ashley, Bradley, Chicot,
Columbia, Crittenden, Cross, Desha, Drew, Hempstead, Howard, Jefferson,
Lafayette, Lee, Lincoln, Little River, Miller, Monroe, Nevada, Phillips, Pike,
Poinsett, St. Francis, Sevier, Union and Woodruff.
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Missouri:
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County of Dunklin
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North Carolina:
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Counties of Anson, Cumberland, Gaston, Hoke, Polk, and
Rutherford
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South Carolina:
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Counties of Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell,
Cherokee, Chesterfield, Edgefield, Greenville, Lancaster, Laurens, Lexington,
Marlboro, Orangeburg, Richland, Saluda, Spartanburg, Sumter and York
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Tennessee:
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Counties of Chester, Crockett, Dyer, Fayette, Hardeman,
Hardin, Lake, Lauderdale, McNairy, Madison and Weakley
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Texas:
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Counties of Anderson, Bexar,
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Brazos, Camp, Cherokee, Freestone, Limestone, McLennan,
Milam, Rusk, San Augustine, Smith and Upshur.
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REGULATED PRODUCTS:
All peach, plum, apricot, nectarine and almond nursery
stock.
CONDITIONS GOVERNING SHIPMENT:
Transportation by any means whatsoever of the regulated
products from any regulated area either into, or within, or from the State of
Arkansas, is permitted only when there is securely attached to the outside of
each shipment a valid nursery inspection certificate issued by an authorized
official of the state of origin and bearing the name and address of the
consignor of the regulated articles contained therein.
REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION:
Certificates or permits shall be issued only on the following
conditions:
1. That each nursery in
the phony peach infested areas producing the regulated products shall apply to
the State quarantine official for approval of the proposed nursery-growing site
on or before August 15 of each year;
2. Selected nursery sites shall be at least
300 yards from wild or domesticated plum, 1/2 mile from phony-infested
commercial orchards, and 1/2 mile from urban area;
3. The one-half environs of the nursery site
shall be inspected prior to October 1, and all phony trees found within such
environs removed prior to November 1;
4. All budding shall be restricted to the
slip-bud method.
REMOVAL OF AREAS FROM REGULATIONS:
When satisfactory evidence has been presented that no phony
peach disease has been found for a period of three years in any county or state
affected by this quarantine, said county or state shall be removed from these
regulations.
SHIPMENT OF REGULATED PRODUCTS FOR SCIENTIFIC PURPOSES:
Regulations of this quarantine do not apply to shipments of
regulated products to the United States Department of Agriculture or to other
recognized institutions for scientific purposes except that a special permit
must be secured for the entry into or movement within the State of Arkansas of
such products.
5. PINK
BOLLWORM QUARANTINE
For information concerning Pink Bollworm quarantine, request
Circular 16.
6. SOUTHERN
PINE BEETLE QUARANTINE Revoked December 2, 1982.
7. SOYBEAN CYST NEMATODE QUARANTINE Revoked
December 4, 1981.
8. SWEET POTATO
WEEVIL QUARANTINE
Adopted March 11,1983 after proclamation of a State Emergency
by Governor Bill Clinton. For information request a copy of the
quarantine.
9.
WHITE-FRINGED BEETLE QUARANTINE
Revoked June 30, 1975 at the same time the Federal quarantine
was revoked.
10.
GIBBERELLA FUJIKUROI (BAKANAE STRAINS; QUARANTINE
The Arkansas State Plant Board has found and determined and
does hereby declare the fungus Gibberella fujikuroi (bakanae
strains), causal agent of the rice disease Bakanae, commonly known
as "foolish seedling disease", a public nuisance, a pest and a menace to the
rice industry.
The purpose of this quarantine is to prohibit introduction of
the disease and its causal agent into rice production areas of Arkansas. The
movement of Gibberella fujikuroi (bakanae strains) regulated
articles from infested areas into Arkansas is hereby restricted.
QUARANTINE
IMPLEMENTATION:
The Arkansas State Plant Board will implement the
Gibberella fujikuroi (bakanae strains)/Bakanae or Foolish
Seedling Disease of Rice-quarantine immediately upon adoption of the
regulations. Regulatory action will be implemented at the discretion of the
Board.
DEFINITIONS:
Certificate-A document issued or authorized by the Arkansas
State Plant Board, or regulatory official of the state of origin, indicating
that a regulated article is not contaminated with Gibberellafujikuroi
(bakanae strains), or has been treated in such a manner as to
eliminate the organism. Such articles may be moved to any destination.
Compliance Agreement-A written agreement between the Arkansas
State Plant Board and any person engaged in growing, dealing in or moving
regulated articles wherein the latter agrees to comply with conditions
specified in the agreement to prevent the dissemination of
Gibberellafujikuroi (bakanae strains).
Exemptions-Provisions contained in these Regulations which
allow for modifications in conditions of movement of regulated articles from
regulated areas under specified conditions.
Farm Operator-Person responsible for the production and sale of
a rice crop on any individual farm.
Infected-Presence of the causal organism on or in seed or any
plant part that may or may not sustain and support the living and reproduction
of the organism.
Infested-Actually infested with the organism or so exposed to
infestation that it would be reasonable to believe that an infestation
exists.
Inoculum-Spores or any other part of the causal organism that
might serve to cause the organism to survive and reproduce on any plant or
plant part that it comes into contact with.
Inspector-Any authorized employee of the Arkansas State Plant
Board, or any other person authorized by the Arkansas State Plant Board to
enforce the provisions of these rules.
Limited Permit-A document issued or authorized by the Arkansas
State Plant Board or a designated regulatory official to provide for the
movement of regulated articles to restricted destination for limited handling,
utilization or processing or for treatment.
Mill Operator- A person responsible for the operation of a
manufacturing plant, and all facilities of that plant, involved in the
processing, packaging or handling of rough rice and rice products.
Milled Rice-Rice that has been subjected to processing to
produce products from rough rice.
Milling Rice-Rice that has been produced, handled, acquired and
destined for processing through a mill.
Person-Any individual, corporation, company, society,
association or other business entity.
Regulated Area-Any state or any portion of such state that is
known to be infested with Gibberellafujikuroi (bakanae
strains).
Research Rice-Any rice seed or rice plant parts that are to be
used in a recognized research project conducted by a state or federal program
under the supervision of a trained and credentialed professional staff that has
in place proper safety programs to prevent the accidental release and/or spread
of the disease.
Rice Mill-Any manufacturing plants and all associated
facilities that are involved in processing rough rice to produce rice related
products.
Rice-All parts of rice and wild rice plants of the genera
Oryza.
Rice Hulls-The outer covering of the rice seed that usually is
removed in the milling process.
Rice Production Area-Any area utilized in the growing of rice
plants for production of the plant and/or subsequent seed for
harvesting.
Rice Products-Any commodity or product that has been produced
from any part of the rice plant and may contain parts of the original plant
structure or they may be unrecognizable as having originated from the rice
plant because of being subj ected to additional processing.
Rice Mill Waste-Any trash or discarded material that was
originally contained or in contact with rice plants, seed or other plant parts
utilized in a milling process.
Rough Rice-Rice seed harvested, handled and transported in the
same form it was in immediately following harvest and removal from the rice
plant.
Seed Assay-Any test available to be applied to a sample, lot or
other quantity of seed to determine the presence of Gibber
ellafujikuroi (bakanae strains).
Seed Rice-Seed removed from the rice plant and subjected to
such processing as to make the seed suitable for use as planting material for
subsequent rice crops. This processing may include but is not limited to
cleaning, treating and bagging. Depending on the handling and products applied
to this seed it may or may not be suitable for human consumption.
Treatment-Any process that may be applied to rice seed or other
plant parts in an attempt to modify/or affect the presence of
Gibberella fujikuroi (bakanae strains).
Used Rice Equipment-Any equipment previously used to harvest,
strip, transport, destroy or process rice.
REGULATAED ARTICLES:
The following are regulated under the provisions of this
Section:
(1) The causal agent,
Gibberellafujikuroi (bakanae strains), in any living stage of
development;
(2) Rice;
(3) Rough Rice;
(4) Seed Rice;
(5) Research Rice;
(6) Milling Rice;
(7) Rice Hulls;
(8) Rice Mill Waste;
(9) Used Rice Equipment;
(10) Any other products, articles or means of
conveyance, not covered by subparagraphs (1) to (9) of this Rule, when
determined by an inspector they present a hazard of spread of
Gibberella fujikuroi (bakanae strains) and the person in
possession thereof has been so notified.
CONDITIONS GOVERNING THE MOVEMENT OF REGULATED ARTICLES:
The following conditions govern the movement of regulated
articles:
(1) A certificate or limited
permit is required to transport regulated articles from a regulated area into
or through any rice production area.
(2) A certificate or limited permit for
movement of regulated articles may be obtained from the Arkansas State Plant
Board or an authorized cooperator/collaborator agency.
(3) A certificate or limited permit may be
issued by an inspector if a regulated article:
a. Has originated in the non-infested area of
this state or in a non-infested area of any other state and has not been
exposed to infestation at any time; or
b. Has been treated to eliminate infestation;
or
c. Has been subjected to a seed
assay to determine if the causal agent is present and none is found;
or
d. Has been grown, manufactured,
stored or handled in such a manner that in the judgment of the inspector no
infestation will be transmitted thereby.
(4) Limited permits may be issued by an
inspector to allow the movement of non-certified regulated articles for
specified handling, utilization, processing or treatment in accordance with
approved procedures, provided the inspector has determined that such movement
will not result in the spread of Gibberella ffujikuroi
(bakanae strains).
(5)
When certificates or limited permits are required, they shall be securely
fastened to the regulated article or to the outside of the container in which
the regulated article is being moved.
(6) Any certificate or limited permit which
has been issued or authorized may be withdrawn by the inspector if he
determines that the holder thereof has not complied with any conditions for the
use of such documents or with any conditions contained in a compliance
agreement.
(7) Persons requesting
certification or a limited permit must request the services from an
inspector(s) at least 48 hours before the services are needed. The regulated
articles must be assembled at the place and manner in which the inspector
designates outside the rice production area. The following information must be
provided at the time the request is submitted:
a. The quantity of the regulated article to
be moved,
b. The location of the
regulated article,
c. The names and
addresses of the consignee and consignor,
d. The method of shipment, and e. The
scheduled date of shipment.
QUARANTINE AREA:
Any rice production area where Gibberellafujikuroi
(bakanae strains) and/or Bakanae (Foolish Seedling Disease) have been
confirmed to occur.
INSPECTION AND
DISPOSAL:
An inspector is authorized to stop and inspect any regulated
article moving into a rice production area. Any article found to be infested
with Gibberellafujikuori (bakanae strains) or having
originated in an area where Gibberella fujikuori (bakanae
stains) is known to occur and not certified, shall be subject to treatment or
confiscation and destruction, without compensation, as required by the Arkansas
State Plant Board. COMPLIANCE
AGREEMENT:
(1) As
a condition of issuance of certificates or limited permits for the movement of
regulated articles, any person engaged in purchasing, assembling, exchanging,
handling, processing, utilizing, treating or moving such articles may be
required to sign a compliance agreement stipulating that he/she:
a. Maintain such safeguards against the
establishment and spread of any infestation;
b. Comply with such conditions as to the
maintenance of identity, handling and subsequent movement of such articles; and
c. Cleaning and treatment of means of conveyance and the containers used in the
transportation of such articles as may be require by the inspector.
(2) Any compliance agreement may
be cancelled by the inspector who is supervising its enforcement whenever he
finds, after notice and opportunity to present views has been accorded to the
other party thereto, that such other party has failed to comply with the
conditions of the agreement. Any compliance agreement may be cancelled when
compliance is no longer required.
VIOLATIONS AND
PENALTIES:
Any violation of these rules may be subject to civil penalties
under the authority of the Arkansas Plant Act of 1917, A.C. A. Section
2-16-203.
ADDENDUM "A"
ENFORCEMENT RESPONSE PLAN
PENALTY MATRIX
NURSERY INSPECTION QUARANTINE SECTIONOther:
A: License Review
Range of $50.00 to $1,000.00ENFORCEMENT
POLICYB: Probation
ARKANSAS ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES ACT A.C.A.
25-15-201 C:
Invalidation of License
Minor
V iolation: A violative incident
which does not involve human health, safety, or endanger the environment; or
other incidents of non-compliance which do not create a competitive
disadvantage for licensees in full compliance.
Major
V iolation: A violative incident
which affects human health, safety, or the environment; or other incidents of
non-compliance which create a competitive disadvantage over licensees in full
compliance; or a history of repetitive violative incidents.
|
V
IOLATION
|
V IOLATION
LEV EL
|
Level of Enforcement
|
2nd
Level of Enforcement
|
3rd
Level of Enforcement
|
4th
Level of Enforcement
|
|
Failure to Secure a License or Permit
Number
|
Minor
|
50- 100
|
101 -200
|
201 - 400
|
401 - 600
|
|
Major
|
100-400
|
401 - 600
|
601 - 800
|
801 - 1000
|
|
Other
|
A-B-C
|
c
|
|
Failure to Fulfill Contracts or Other Related
replacements or adjustments
|
Minor
|
50- 100
|
101 -200
|
201 - 400
|
401 - 600
|
|
Major
|
100-400
|
401 - 600
|
601 - 800
|
801 - 1000
|
|
Other
|
A-B-C
|
c
|
|
Misrepresentation for the purpose of deceiving or
defrauding
|
Minor
|
50- 100
|
101 -200
|
201 - 400
|
401 - 600
|
|
Major
|
100-400
|
401 - 600
|
601 - 800
|
801 - 1000
|
|
Other
|
A-B-C
|
C
|
|
Repeated sales of poor quality
|
Minor
|
50- 100
|
101 -200
|
201 - 400
|
401 - 600
|
|
Major
|
100-400
|
401 - 600
|
601 - 800
|
801 - 1000
|
|
Other
|
A-B-C
|
c
|
|
Unable to produce required records
|
Minor
|
50- 100
|
101 -200
|
201 - 400
|
401 - 600
|
|
Major
|
100-400
|
401 - 600
|
601 - 800
|
801 - 1000
|
|
Other
|
A-B-C
|
c
|
|
Buying, digging, or possessing Ginseng out of
season without proper documentation
|
Minor
|
50- 100
|
101 -200
|
201 - 400
|
401 - 600
|
|
Major
|
100-400
|
401 - 600
|
601 - 800
|
801 - 1000
|
|
Other
|
A-B-C
|
c
|
|
Shipped or moved regulated articles
|
Minor
|
50- 100
|
101 -200
|
201 - 400
|
401 - 600
|
|
Major
|
100-400
|
401 - 600
|
601 - 800
|
801 - 1000
|
|
from a quarantine area without proper treatment
or certificate
|
Other
|
Material will be returned to seller at seller's
expense,
or treated on site with a labeled and approved
pesticide by a licensed Pest
Control operator.
|
Material will be returned to seller at seller's
expense, or treated on site with a labeled and approved pesticide by a licensed
Pest Control operator.
|
A-B-C
Material will be returned to seller at seller's
expense, or treated on site with a labeled and approved pesticide by a licensed
Pest Control operator.
|
C
Material will be returned to seller at seller's
expense, or treated on site with a labeled and approved pesticide by a
licensed
Pest Control operator.
|
|
Failure to label in accordance with the law and
regulations
|
Minor
|
50- 100
|
101 -200
|
201 - 400
|
401 - 600
|
|
Major
|
100-400
|
401 - 600
|
601 - 800
|
801 - 1000
|
|
Other
|
A-B-C
|
c
|
|
Selling, transporting or disposing of in anyway,
plants and nursery stock covered by a stop-sale notice
|
Minor
|
50- 100
|
101 -200
|
201 - 400
|
401 - 600
|
|
Major
|
100-400
|
401 - 600
|
601 - 800
|
801 - 1000
|
|
Other
|
A-B-C
|
c
|
|
V iolating a
compliance agreement
|
Minor
|
50- 100
|
101 -200
|
201 - 400
|
401 - 600
|
|
Major
|
100-400
|
401 - 600
|
601 - 800
|
801 - 1000
|
|
Other
|
A-B-C
|
c
|
ADDENDUM "B"
ENFORCEMENT RESPONSE PLAN
PENALTY MATRIX CHENIERE RICE REGULATIONS
|
VIOLATION
|
Violation Level
|
1 st Level of Enforcement
|
2nd Level of Enforcement
|
3rd Level of Enforcement
|
4th Level of Enforcement
|
|
Enforcement Action
|
Civil
Penalty
Fine
|
Enforcement Action
|
Civil
Penalty
Fine
|
Enforcement Action
|
Civil
Penalty
Fine
|
Enforcement Action
|
Civil
Penalty
Fine
|
|
1 .Sells, offers for sale, plants, produces, harvests,
stores, distributes, transports, or processes (conditions) for planting
Cheniere or other Rice seed identified as having characteristics of commercial
impact.
|
Minor*
|
A
|
|
Major*
|
A, B
|
$30,000 - $50,000 per unit per day violation
continues
|
A,B,C
|
$50,000 - $75,000 per unit per day violation
continues
|
A,B,C
|
$75,000-$100,000 per unit per day violation
continues
|
A,B,C
|
$100,000 per unit per day
|
|
2. Transporting any rice seed identified as having
characteristics of commercial impact across state lines
|
Minor
|
A
|
|
Major
|
A,B
|
$30,000 - $50,000 per unit per day violation
continues
|
A,B,C
|
$50,000 - $75,000 per unit per day violation
continues
|
A,B,C
|
$75,000-$100,000 per unit per day violation
continues
|
A,B,C
|
$100,000 per unit per day
|
|
3.Representing rice seeds/grain which is
indistinguishable by seed characteristics to be a variety without
characteristics of commercial impact, without having adequate information for
such representation.
|
Minor*
|
A
|
|
Major*
|
A,B
|
$30,000 - $50,000 per unit per day violation
continues
|
A,B,C
|
$50,000 - $75,000 per unit per day violation
continues
|
A,B,C
|
$75,000-$100,000 per unit per day violation
continues
|
A,B,C
|
$100,000 per unit per day
|
|
4. Failure to obtain required test data on planting
rice seed sold, offered for sale or distributed within or into Arkansas.
|
Minor
|
|
Major
|
A,B
|
$30,000 - $50,000 per unit per day violation
continues
|
A,B,C
|
$50,000 - $75,000 per unit per day violation
continues
|
A,B,C
|
$75,000-$100,000 per unit per day violation
continues
|
A,B,C
|
$100,000 per unit per day
|
*Minor or Major determined by 1) nature of the characteristic
involved 2) economic consequences resulting from violation (impacts of more
than $1000.00 are major); 3) number of entities impacted by violation (more
than 3 would be major); 4) quantity of previously approved rice impacted by the
violation (more than 500 bushels would be major); 5) other factors deemed
appropriate by the State Plant Board Director.
Enforcement actions:
A.
Seizure, stop-sale, stop-movement
B. Board/Committee Hearing
C. Referral to Prosecuting
Attorney
SECTION I.
Official Standards for the
Certification of
Commercial Bait and Ornamental Fish in
Arkansas
A.
Purpose
To provide high quality, farm-raised bait and ornamental fish,
free of certain diseases, undesirable plants, undesirable animals, and other
contaminates deemed injurious to fish or fisheries.
B.
Authority
The Arkansas State Plant Board, a division of the Arkansas
Agriculture Department, under act 1449 of 2005, is the official certifying
agent.
C.
Certified
Pathogens and Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS)
Within the detection limits of the appropriate official testing
protocol, commercial bait and ornamental fish meeting these standards are
certified free of the pathogens, plants, animals and other contaminates listed
here:
a. Spring Viremia of Carp
(SVCV)
b. Infectious Pancreatic
Necrosis (IPNV)
c. Viral
Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHSV)
d.
Infectious Hematopoietec Necrosis (HfNV)
e. Eurasian watermilfoil
(Myriophyllum spicatum) f Giant Salvinia {Salvinia
molestd)
g. Hydrilla
{Hydrilla verticillata)
h. Zebra mussel {Dreissena
polymorpha)
i. New Zealand
mud snails (Potamopyrgus antipodarum)
j. Red-rimmed melania {Melanoides
tuberculata)
k.
Sticklebacks (Family Gasterosteidae)
l. Rudd {Scardinius
erythrophthalmus)
m. Orfe
{Leuciscus idus)
n. Silver carp {Hypophthalmichthys
molitrix)
o. Bighead carp
{Hypophthalmichthys nobilis)
p. Snakehead fish (Family
channidae)
q.
Quagga Mussel (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis)
D. Controlled Species
Commercial bait and ornamental fish meeting program standards
are certified to be produced using Arkansas Plant Board approved best
management practices that reduce the likelihood that the following species will
be present in any shipment of certified fish.
a. Mosquito fish (Gambusia
spp.)
E.
Definitions
APHIS: Acronym for the U.S. Department
of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service. Certified
Producer: A Fish Farmer approved under these standards to
represent their fish as Arkansas Certified.
Fishery: A region of water used for
commercial and/or sport fishing. Fish Farm: A location
and/or business entity established for the commercial culture of fish, under
the continuous management of a fish farmer. Fish
Farmer: For the purpose of these standards, the holder of a valid
Fish Farmer
(aquaculturist) Permit issued by the Arkansas
Game and Fish Commission.
F.
Eligibility Requirements
To be designated as Arkansas Certified, bait
and ornamental fish must:
a. have been
spawned, hatched, and reared in Arkansas on a fish farm,
b. have been raised in accordance with the
practices and procedures defined in these standards,
c. have met all inspection and testing
requirements defined in these standards,
d. and, be accompanied by a valid Arkansas
Agriculture Department certificate.
G. Fees
i.
The annual fee to the Plant Board for Certification shall be one dollar per
surface acre of all ponds used to produce certified fish.
ii. The fee to the Plant Board for additional
ANS inspections required for farms failing annual inspections shall be one
dollar per pond surface acre.
Note: Fees for veterinary supervision of disease sample
collection and lab fees for disease testing are not included in the Plant Board
fees and must be negotiated between the farm and the service providers.
H.
Application
for Participation
Farmers wishing to have their fish certified under these
guidelines must make application on official Plant Board forms.
I.
Cultural Practices and
Business Procedures
As part of the application process, farmers (the individual
holding the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Fish Farmer Permit)
must sign an affidavit agreeing to strictly adhere to the following
cultural practices and business procedures:
a. Will culture only those species listed on
the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Approved Aquaculture Species List
or by Arkansas Game and Fish Commission permit..
b. Use only water from wells or recycled
water from within the farm proper without mixture with outside waters or
contact with non-certified fish. Surface waters from any uncertified area of
the farm may not be recycled to any certified area of the farm.
c. No fish will be stocked into any pond used
for the production of certified fish unless they come from a source certified
under these guidelines. In special circumstances, such as the availability of
new species or breeds, and under strict control with reliable documentation,
fish farmers may request exemption from this subparagraph and the Plant Board
will respond to the request within 10 working days.
d. If only a portion of a participating farm
is to be certified, it must be separated from the uncertified portion according
to a biosecurity plan approved by the Plant Board. The uncertified portion must
not be used to produce any fish species also sold by the farm as
certified.
e. If the farm produces
other fish species as sportfish, foodfish, or for other non-bait and ornamental
purposes, those fish must be kept separate according to an approved biosecurity
plan (H.d. above). Alternatively documentation of biosecure separation is not
required if these other species are raised according to these Official
Standards for bait and ornamental fish including ANS inspections and the
submission of 150 of these fish twice a year for fish health inspection (for a
total of 300 fish twice per year).
f There will be no production or participation in the commerce
of any salmonids species or any of the non-fish aquatic nuisance species listed
in paragraph C. Pathogenic and Aquatic Nuisance
Species.
g. Silver
carp and bighead carp may not be stocked into bait or ornamental fish
production ponds.
h. Certified fish
may only be loaded on trucks into dry or disinfected tanks using water from the
certified producer's fish farm. Trucks carrying uncertified fish may enter the
loading area of a certified farm, but any tanks containing fish or water from
an uncertified source must remain closed while loading or unloading certified
fish.
i. If any fish or water from
an uncertified source are to be unloaded into the holding facility of a
certified farm, the water and fish must be separated from certified fish
according to a biosecurity plan approved by the Plant Board.
j. No individuals, trucks, or equipment
including boots, nets, and buckets may enter any area that has contact with or
drains into any water used by the farm for certified fish production if those
individuals, trucks, or equipment have had contact with fish or water not
included in the Arkansas Certification program or from wild fisheries. Such
individuals, trucks, or equipment that have been disinfected just prior to
entrance may enter these areas,
k.
Farms will produce Certified fish according to Arkansas Plant Board approved
best management practices for controlled species (Section D).
J.
Inspections
The Director of the State Plant Board or his agent may conduct
investigations and/or make inspections as necessary to assure conformity with
these standards. In particular, at least annually, the Plant Board shall make
an on farm inspection of water sources, ponds, fish handling areas, equipment,
compliance with best management practices, and records offish sales and
purchases.
As part of this annual inspection, an inspector from the Plant
Board will visit the farm once per year during the summer. A visual check of
50% of the total number of ponds on the farm will be made for snail species,
zebra mussels and specific aquatic plants. All of the ponds must be inspected
at least once every 2 years. One pond edge will be examined for listed plants
and snails and a hard surface (e.g., pier, post, drainpipe, aerator float) will
be checked for zebra mussels. Any suspect plants or mollusks will be collected
and submitted to an expert for confirmation. For fish species, visual
inspection of farm holding vats will be conducted to insure that certified fish
species being held in vats do not contain the listed ANS. Farm records will be
examined for evidence of commerce in listed species.
In addition to Plant Board inspections, as part of the
bi-annual sampling offish for disease testing, the independent agent sampling
fish will make note of the observance of any listed aquatic nuisance species.
The Agent will preserve any unidentified fish species taken as a part of normal
sampling procedures and submit those specimens along with disease testing
samples to an independent APHIS approved laboratory for identification.
Farms that do not pass these ANS inspections may not label or
represent their fish as certified until all aquatic nuisance species have been
eradicated and confirmed by a successful inspection. In addition, in order to
maintain their certified status, these farms will undergo an additional aquatic
nuisance species inspection one month after the first successful post
eradication inspection. This follow up inspection will not be conducted during
a period when the aquatic nuisance species would not be expected to be present,
but will occur when conditions for detection are favorable. Farms that do not
pass a BMP inspection may not label or represent their fish as certified until
the deficiency is corrected and the farm passes a follow-up BMP compliance
inspection.
K.
Disease Testing
Each year, the certified producer or new applicants, must
provide documentation of two consecutive years of freedom from certified
pathogens from an independent laboratory approved by APHIS to test for the
listed pathogens. Sampling, analysis and reporting is to be conducted as
follows:
The sample must be 150 fish and must include moribund (sick)
fish observed during the sampling process. It must be collected twice per year.
Once during the months of October, November or December and once during the
months of March, April or May.
Collection of the sample must be overseen by an APHIS
accredited DVM. The collection must be made under the direct observation of the
overseer to an extent that the official can attest to the origin of the fish
and that the sampling scheme was appropriate to meet the standards detailed
below.
The sample should include all of the ponds and grow out tanks
and the final species and age composition of the sample should reflect the
overall composition of the certified fish on the farm. For example, if the farm
has 5 ponds of koi and 10 ponds of goldfish to be certified, the final sample
of 150 fish should be from all of the ponds and should be 33 % koi and 67 %
goldfish with each pond offish equally represented. For a 150 fish sample, you
would need 50 koi (10 from each of the 5 ponds), and 100 goldfish (about 10
from each of the 10 ponds). For farms with more than 50 ponds, all species and
sizes offish must be included in each sample, but the ponds may be sampled in
rotation so that all ponds are sampled at least once every two years.It is not
appropriate to sample fish from shipping and sorting facilities where fish are
held for brief periods. The origin of these fish cannot be known with certainty
and they may represent only a very low percentage of the fish lots present on
the farm. Small numbers of some species may be efficiently captured with a dip
net along the pond margin; other species may have to be captured with a small
seine. In some cases, fish traps are appropriate. They may be placed in the
ponds by the farmer but the sampling official must be present to oversee the
checking of the traps and the removal of fish from the traps for the sample.
Fish collected and removed from the ponds by the farmer without direct
supervision by the overseer are not appropriate. Be sure to include any
moribund fish that are observed during the sampling.
Farms testing positive for a listed certified pathogen may not
label or represent their fish as certified until they have undergone a Plant
Board supervised eradication, disinfection, re-establishment with fish from a
certified source and have then re-established a 2-year history of disease free
inspections according to the rules of this program. All Plant Board fees must
be paid during the re-establishment period.
L.
Certificates and Labeling
Producers accepted into the certification program will be
issued official certificates, which are to be completed at the time the fish
are loaded. Certificates are valid until the fish leave the certified
producer's control. All certificates will bear the shipment date and shipper
invoice number along with description of the shipment. All will expire within 2
weeks of issuance.
a.
Transference of Certification
A certified producer may purchase fish from another certified
producer then deliver those fish under their own certificate given that they
receive a valid certificate from the seller and maintain that certificate in
their records for inspection by the Plant Board.
ADDENDUM
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
Baitfish Best Management Practices:
Gambusia
Pond Preparation
* Ponds are drained and dried between crops
* Any puddles or sumps that still contain water after the
drying process are treated with a suitable pond bottom sterilant or
piscicide
Pond Filling
* No surface water is used (an existing requirement of the
Arkansas Certification Program)
* Water may be moved between ponds if the donor pond is known
to be Gambusia-free or if the water is passed through a filter of sufficiently
small porosity to remove Gambusia fry
Fry Production - Fathead
Minnows
* No uncertified broodstock can be used (an existing
requirement of the Certification Program)
* Broodstock must be inspected for Gambusia
* Broodstock cannot be used if Gambusia are present
* Gambusia-free broodstock can be hand selected from mixed fish
populations
Fry Production - Golden Shiners and
Goldfish
* No uncertified broodstock can be used (an existing
requirement of the Certification Program)
* Broodstock must be inspected for Gambusia
* Broodstock cannot be used if Gambusia are present
* Gambusia-free broodstock can be hand selected from mixed fish
populations
* When fish are hatched in tanks, eggs mats must be thoroughly
disinfected by treatments with 50-100 ppm iodine or 500-1000 ppm formalin prior
to hatch and fry transfer.
Biosecurity
* If seines, nets, fish haulers and other equipment are to be
moved to baitfish production ponds from areas known or suspected to harbor
Gambusia, the equipment must first be dried or treated with a suitable
piscicide.
