Utah Administrative Code
Topic - Agriculture and Food
Title R68 - Plant Industry
Rule R68-15 - Quarantine Pertaining to Japanese Beetle, (Popillia Japonica)
Section R68-15-7 - Certification Requirements

Universal Citation: UT Admin Code R 68-15-7

Current through Bulletin 2024-06, March 15, 2024

(1) Certification requires production in an approved Japanese beetle free greenhouse or screenhouse, and that:

(a) any media shall be sterilized and free of soil;

(b) any stock shall be free of soil, bareroot before planting into the approved medium;

(c) potted plants shall be maintained within the greenhouse or screenhouse during the entire adult flight period;

(d) during the adult flight period the greenhouse or screenhouse shall be made secure so that adult Japanese beetles cannot gain entry;

(e) security shall be documented by the appropriate phytosanitary officials of the origin state and each area shall be specifically approved as a secure area;

(f) the greenhouse, or screenhouse shall be inspected by the appropriate phytosanitary officials for the presence of any life stages of the Japanese beetle;

(g) the plants and their growing medium shall be appropriately protected from subsequent infestation while being stored, packed and shipped;

(h) certified greenhouse, or screenhouse nursery stock may not be transported into or through any infested areas unless identity is preserved and adequate safeguards are applied to prevent possible infestation; and

(i) each greenhouse, or screenhouse operation shall be approved by department phytosanitary officials as having met and maintained the criteria in Subsection R68-15-7(1), and shall be issued an appropriate certificate that includes the following declaration: "The rooted plants (or crowns) were produced in an approved Japanese beetle free greenhouse or screenhouse."

(2) Production During a Pest Free Window.

(a) The entire rooted plant production cycle shall be completed within a pest free window, in clean containers with sterilized and soilless growing medium such as that planting, growth, harvest, and shipment will occur outside the adult Japanese beetle flight period, June through October.

(b) The accompanying phytosanitary certificate shall bear the following declaration: "These plants were produced outside the Japanese beetle flight season."

(3) Applications of Approved Regulatory Treatments.

(a) Any treatments shall be performed under direct supervision of a phytosanitary official of the origin state or under a compliance agreement.

(b) Treatments and procedures performed under a compliance agreement shall be monitored closely throughout the season.

(c) State phytosanitary certificates listing and verifying the treatment used shall be forwarded to the receiving state via fax or electronic mail, as well as accompanying the shipment.
(i) Not each treatment approved in the U.S. Domestic Japanese beetle Harmonization Plan are acceptable for Utah.

(d) The phytosanitary certificate shall bear the following declaration: "The rooted plants were treated to control "Popillia japonica" according to the criteria for shipment to category 1 states as provided in the U.S. Domestic Japanese beetle Harmonization Plan and Utah Japanese beetle Quarantine."

(e) Treatment Protocols.
(i) Dip Treatment - balled and burlapped and container Pplants. Dip treatment is not an approved treatment protocol.

(ii) Drench Treatment - Container Plants Only.
(A) Drench treatment is a prophylactic treatment protocol targeting eggs and early first-instar larvae.

(B) If the containers are exposed to a second flight season they shall be retreated.

(C) Drench treatment is not approved for ornamental grasses or sedges.

(D) Potting media used shall be sterile and soilless, and containers shall be clean.

(E) Field potted plants are not eligible for certification using the drench treatment protocol.

(F) Imidacloprid (Marathon 60WP) is an accepted drench treatment.
(I) 0.5 grams of active ingredient shall be applied per gallon as a prophylactic treatment just before Japanese beetle adult flight season, which is June 1, or as otherwise determined by the phytosanitary official.

(II) Tank mix shall be applied as a drench to wet the entire surface of the potting media.

(III) A 24 gallon tank mix shall be enough to treat 120-140 one-gallon containers.

(IV) Over drenching shall be avoided to not waste active ingredients through leaching.

(V) During the adult flight season, plants shall be retreated after 16 weeks if not shipped to assure adequate protection.

(G) Bifenthrin, Talstar Nursery Flowable 7.9% is an accepted drench treatment.
(I) Bifenthrin shall be mixed at the rate of 20 ounces per 100 gallons of water.

(II) Bifenthrin shall be applied, as a drench, about eight ounces of tank mix per six inches of container diameter.

(iii) Media, Granule, Incorporation - Container Plants Only.
(A) Media, granule, incorporation treatment protocol targets eggs and early first-instar larvae and allows for certification of plants that have been exposed to only one flight season after application.

(B) Any pesticides used for media incorporation shall be mixed before potting and plants potted at least 30 days before shipment.

(C) Potting media used shall be sterile and soilless, and containers shall be clean.

(D) The granules shall be incorporated into the media before potting.

(E) Field potted plants are not eligible for treatment.

(F) If the containers are to be exposed to a second flight season they shall be repotted with a granule incorporated mix or retreated using one of the approved drench treatments under Subsection R68-15-7(2)(e)(ii).

(G) Pesticides approved for media incorporation are:
(I) Imidacloprid (Marathon 1G) mixed at the rate of five pounds per cubic yard;

(II) Bifenthrin, Talstar Nursery Granular or Talstar T and O Granular (0.2) mixed at the rate of 25 parts per million (ppm) or 0.33 of a pound per cubic yard based on a potting media bulk density of 200; and

(III) Tefluthrin, Fireban 1.5 G mixed at the rate of 25 ppm based on a potting media bulk density of 400.

(iv) Nursery stock: methyl bromide fumigation at normal atmospheric pressure, chamber or tarpaulin. The authorized treatment schedules shall be those stated in the California Commodity Treatment Manual.

(v) Other treatment or protocol not described in this rule may be submitted for review and approved by the commissioner.

(4) Detection Survey for Origin Certification.

(a) U.S. Domestic Japanese beetle Harmonization Plan protocol not approved.

(b) Alternative approved protocol.
(i) States listed in the area under quarantine may have counties that are not infested with Japanese beetle.

(ii) Shipments of restricted articles may be accepted from noninfested counties if annual surveys are made in these counties and adjacent counties and the results of the surveys are negative for Japanese beetle.

(iii) The plants shall be greenhouse grown or contained in media that is sterilized and free of soil and the shipping nursery shall grow their own stock from seed, unrooted cuttings, or bareroot material.

(iv) A list of approved counties shall be maintained by the department.

(v) Agricultural officials from a quarantined state or province may recommend a noninfested county be placed on the approved county list by writing for approval and stating how surveys were conducted including:
(A) areas surveyed;

(B) how survey was carried out;

(C) number of traps;

(D) results of survey;

(E) history of survey; and

(F) if a county was previously infested, give the date of last infestation.

(vi) If infestations occur in neighboring counties, approval may be denied.

(vii) To be maintained on the approved list, each county shall be reapproved each 12 months.

(viii) Shipments of restricted articles from noninfested counties shall only be allowed entry into Utah if the uninfested county has been placed on the approved list before the arrival of the shipment in Utah.

(ix) The certificate shall have the following declaration: "The plants in this consignment were produced in (name of county), state of (name of state of origin) that is known to be free of Japanese beetle."

(5) Privately owned house plants obviously grown, or certified at the origin state as having been grown indoors without exposure to Japanese beetle may be allowed entry into this state without meeting the requirements of Section R68-15-5.

(a) Contact the department by mail, FAX, or email for requirements:
(i) Director, Plant Industry Division, Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, 4315 South 2700 West TSOB South Bldg, Floor 2 Taylorsville, UT 84129-2128;

(ii) FAX: (801) 538-7189; or

(iii) email: UDAF-Nursery@utah.gov.

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