Current through Register Vol. 24-06, March 15, 2024
Regulated articles within the state of Washington quarantined
areas are prohibited from moving outside the quarantined area (from all
properties, including commercial and private properties), except as provided
for below:
(1) The upper eight inches
of topsoil containing vegetative material from all properties; humus and
compost (except when produced commercially), and growing media (except when
commercially packaged), may be allowed to move from the quarantine area if they
are first treated by one of the following methods. Treatments must be monitored
by the department for compliance.
(a) Steam
heated to a temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour, to kill all
life stages of Japanese beetle;
(b)
Other treatments determined to be effective at eradicating Japanese beetle and
approved in writing by the director.
(2) Yard debris may be allowed to move from
the quarantine area if it is first treated by one of the following methods.
Treatments must be monitored by the department for compliance.
(a) Steam heated to a temperature of 140
degrees Fahrenheit for one hour, to kill all life stages of Japanese
beetle;
(b) When consisting solely
of woody materials containing no soil, yard debris may be chipped to a screen
size of one inch in two dimensions or smaller during the Japanese beetle adult
flight season (May 15th through October 15th). Woody material containing no
soil can be moved outside of the Japanese beetle adult flight season without
chipping;
(c) Another treatment
determined to be effective at eradicating Japanese beetle and approved in
writing by the director.
(3) Plants for planting and propagation
(except when dormant and bareroot and free from soil or growing media), all
plants with roots, plant crowns or roots, bulbs, corms, tubers and rhizomes,
and turf-grass (sod) may be allowed to move from the quarantine area if each
shipment complies with one of the treatment or inspection requirements detailed
under (a) through (f) of this subsection. Before the shipment moves outside the
quarantined area, the shipment must be approved by the department. Approval
will be documented by the issuance of a certificate of treatment or inspection
when the department determines that the shipment is in compliance with the
treatment or inspection requirements. The certificate must accompany the
shipment while the shipment is in transit. Treated plants must be safeguarded
from reinfestation prior to shipping. Plants shipped dormant and bareroot with
no soil or growing media attached are exempt from these requirements, and
should be identified as bareroot on shipping documents.
(a) Production in an approved Japanese beetle
free greenhouse/ screenhouse. All the following criteria apply to be approved
as a Japanese beetle free greenhouse/screenhouse. All media must be sterilized
and free of soil. All planting stock must be free of soil (bareroot) before
planting into the approved medium. The potted plants must be maintained within
the greenhouse/screenhouse during the entire adult flight period (May 15th
through October 15th). During the adult flight period, the
greenhouse/screenhouse must be made secure so that adult Japanese beetles
cannot enter. Such security measures must be approved by the department. No
Japanese beetle contaminated material shall be allowed into the secured area at
any time. The greenhouse/screenhouse will be officially inspected by the
department for the presence of all life stages of Japanese beetle and must be
specifically approved as a secure area. The plants and their growing medium
must be appropriately protected from subsequent infestation while being stored,
packed, and shipped. Certified greenhouse/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. Each
greenhouse/screenhouse operation must be approved by the department as having
met and maintained the above criteria. The certificate accompanying the plants
shall bear the following additional declaration: "The rooted plants (or crowns)
were produced in an approved Japanese beetle free greenhouse or screenhouse and
were grown in sterile, soilless media."
(b) Production during a pest free window. The
entire rooted plant production cycle (planting, growth, harvest, and shipping)
will be completed within a pest free window (October 16th through May 14th), in
clean containers with sterilized and soilless growing medium, and shipment will
occur outside the adult Japanese beetle flight period (May 15th through October
15th). The accompanying phytosanitary certificate shall bear the following
additional declaration: "These plants were produced outside the Japanese beetle
flight season and were grown in sterile, soilless media."
(c) Application of approved regulatory
treatments. All treatments will be performed under direct supervision of the
department or under a compliance agreement. Treatments and procedures under a
compliance agreement will be monitored throughout the season. State
phytosanitary certificates listing and verifying the treatment used must
accompany the shipment. Note that not all treatments or methods approved in the
U.S. Domestic Japanese Beetle Harmonization Plan are acceptable for use within
Washington state. The phytosanitary certificate shall bear the following
additional declaration: "The rooted plants are in soilless media and 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 Washington state's Japanese beetle
quarantine."
(d) Dip treatment -
Not an approved treatment.
(e)
Drench treatments - Container plants only. Not approved for ornamental grasses
or sedges. Not approved for field potted plants. Potting media used must be
sterile and soilless, containers must be clean. Only containerized nursery
stock with rootballs 12 inches in diameter or smaller and free from field soil
are eligible. This is a prophylactic treatment protocol targeting eggs and
early first instar larvae. If the containers are exposed to a second flight
season, they must be retreated with an approved insecticide. Chemicals approved
for drench treatments of container plants under this protocol can be found in
the Japanese Beetle National Harmonization Plan for shipping to a Category 1
state, and must be labeled for use in Washington state.
(f) Media (granule) incorporation - Container
plants only. Not approved for ornamental grasses or sedges. Only containerized
nursery stock with rootballs 12 inches in diameter or smaller, planted in
approved growing media, and free from field soil are eligible. Plants grown in
field soil and then potted into soilless container substrates are not eligible
for certification using this protocol, unless all field soil is removed from
the roots so plants are bareroot at the time of potting. All pesticides used
for media incorporation must be mixed thoroughly into the media before potting
and plants should be watered at least two times following media incorporation
before shipment can begin. Approved growing media used must be free from soil
and consist of synthetic or other substances (other than soil) used singly or
in combinations. Examples of approved growing media include conifer bark,
hardwood bark, expanded or baked clay pellets, expanded polystyrene beads,
floral foam, ground coconut husk, ground cocoa pods, ground coffee hulls,
ground rice husk, peat, perlite, pumice, recycled paper, rock wool, sawdust,
sphagnum, styrofoam, synthetic sponge, vermiculite, and volcanic ash or cinder.
The media shall contain only substances that were not used previously for
growing plants or other agricultural purposes. It must be free of plant pests,
sand, and related matter, and safeguarded in such a manner as to prevent the
introduction of all life stages of Japanese beetle to the media. The granules
must be incorporated into the media before potting. Plants being stepped up
into treated potting media must first have undergone an approved drench
treatment to eliminate any untreated volume of potting medium. This 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. If the containers are to be exposed to a second flight season,
they must be repotted with a granular incorporated mix or retreated using one
of the approved drench treatments. Chemicals approved for media (granule)
incorporation for container plants under this protocol can be found in the
Japanese Beetle National Harmonization Plan for shipping to a Category 1 state,
and must be labeled for use in Washington state.
(4) Hop bines and unshucked corn ears: Fields
where hops or corn (intended to be shipped unshucked) are planted must be
trapped and monitored by the department and found free of Japanese beetle for
the entire adult flight period (May 15th through October 15th), or from the
date of planting up to the date of harvest if both dates are within the flight
period. Fields that are not sufficiently trapped will not be considered free
from Japanese beetle. If the field is found free of Japanese beetle by the
department, bines and unshucked corn ears may be moved outside the quarantined
area. If the department determines there is evidence of Japanese beetle
presence, bines and unshucked corn ears must be treated prior to harvest or
movement by a method approved by the director in advance. All shipments of hop
bines and unshucked corn ears to areas outside the quarantined area must be
accompanied by a compliance document issued by the department stating the field
of origin and destination addresses. If a shipment is found to contain Japanese
beetles, any further shipments from that field must be in vehicles sufficiently
closed/covered to prevent reinfestation after treatment.