Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller released a statement this past Thursday that an emergency quarantine is now in place to stop the spread of an invasive species known as the cotton jassid.
Miller said the quarantine applies to all shipments coming from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee where the pest has also been detected.
“This emergency order immediately restricts the movement of host plants and regulated articles from infested areas into Texas unless strict certification or treatment requirements are met. Retailers and nurseries found violating the quarantine face fines, destruction of infested plants, and potential criminal penalties,” according to the release.
Miller’s office said that the cotton jassid, also known as the two-spot cotton leafhopper, is known to feed on various plant hosts, like cotton, okra, eggplant, sunflower, hibiscus, soybeans, and several weeds.
“If you are a grower, retailer or consumer, you need to be on the lookout,” said Miller. In Texas, the pest has been detected on hibiscus in big box store nurseries in Bellmead, McAllen, Weslaco, Harlingen, Victoria, Rosenberg, San Antonio, Cedar Park, College Station, Waco, Longview, Corpus Christi and El Paso. It appears that infested hibiscus plants were shipped from South Florida for sell throughout much of the southern U.S.
“Texas cotton farmers are the backbone of our economy and our communities,” Miller said in the release. “Texas grows 40 percent of the cotton grown in the U.S., making this pest a major threat to our supply. I won’t let a threat like the cotton jassid harm our farmers, ranchers, nurseries, or landscapes. We’re taking aggressive steps to stop this pest in its tracks.”
Initial observations from Georgia indicate that jassid infestations and associated plant injury appear quickly after colonization and are most severe along field margins. Under heavy infestation, hopperburn symptoms extend throughout the field, leading to premature defoliation. Severe feeding stunts plant growth and can cause the premature drop of fruiting structures, resulting in yield and quality losses.
According to Miller’s office, the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) “has the authority to establish quarantines when an imminent threat exists.” The TDA has since issued the following emergency regulatory orders.
The order includes destroying infected plants, rejecting shipments without phytosanitary documents, quarantine and monitoring, vehicle seizure and impoundment of trucks, trailers or refrigerated haulers transporting regulate products into Texas.
Additionally, there will be expanded statewide inspections by TDA inspectors, USDA and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension to prevent the spread who have already confirmed several positive samples.
Thus far more than 400 inspections have been carried out across the state.
For more information, contact the local AgriLife Extension office.