The head of Iowa’s state agriculture department is banning the importation of some plants, to try and keep a serious tree disease from making its way into the state. Ag Secretary Patty Judge says it isn’t really her ban, she says it’s a federal quarantine in fact, as the U.S.D.A. has banned the movement of certain stock from California nurseries because plants may carry a fungus that causes a disease called sudden oak death. If you weren’t planning some landscaping, you may not notice the quarantine. It’s a long list, 59 products from camellias to hazelnut trees, and even poison oak though she can’t imagine why you’d import that. Judge says local dealers know about the ban and are complying. Judge remembers the terrible toll Dutch Elm Disease took in Iowa years ago, and says this quarantine on imported plants, shrubs and trees is to make sure we don’t go through the same loss with oak trees. For the full list of quarantined plants, visit the ag department’s website at http://www.agriculture.state.ia.us/newsroom.htm
