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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 22-82

NOTICES

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Repeal of the Order of Quarantine; Thousand Cankers Disease of Walnut

[52 Pa.B. 370]
[Saturday, January 15, 2022]

Recitals

 A. By this Order, the Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry hereby Repeals the Order of Quarantine imposed on the plant pest Thousand Cankers Disease (TCD) which, Order was published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, on Saturday, August 2, 2014 (44 Pa.B. 5216, No. 31) and all addenda thereto.

 B. The Department, based on the following information, hereby rescinds the classification of TCD, the fungus Geosmithia morbida and the walnut twig beetle, Pityophthorus juglandis, as a public nuisance and a plant pest:

 1. Native populations of Juglans nigra (black walnut) in the eastern United States have been largely unaffected by TCD despite detections of the beetle and/or fungus in nine states (Moore et al., 2019; Seybold et al., 2019).

 Moore, M., Juzwik, J., Miller, F., Roberts, L., and Ginzel, M.D. 2019. Detection of Geosmithia morbida on numerous insect species in four eastern states. Plant Health Prog. 20:133—139.

 Seybold, S.J., Klingeman, W.E., III, Hishinuma, S.M., Coleman, T.W., and Graves, A.D. 2019. Status and impact of walnut twig beetle in urban forest, orchard, and native forest ecosystems. J. For. 117:152—163.

 2. Based on survey results in Tennessee and Virginia, the percentages of black walnut trees with slight, moderate and severe TCD remained the same for 3 years (Griffin, 2015).

 Griffin, G.J. Status of thousand cankers disease on eastern black walnut in the eastern United States at two locations over 3 years. For. Path. 45 (2015) 203—214.

 3. The outbreaks of TCD in Tennessee and Virginia appear to be partially a result of drought stress of the trees in 2011-2012 (Griffin, 2015).

 4. High precipitation levels and high soil water potentials in 2013 were associated with extensive new foliage and stem growth and recovery from TCD (Griffin, 2015).

 5. It is possible that TCD has been repeatedly introduced into the eastern United States and/or the fungus may be endemic nationwide as suggested by the widespread presence of Geosmithia spp. in other parts of the United States (Huang et al., 2019).

 Huang, Y.T., Skelton, J., Johnson, A.J., Kola|Ahrík M., and Hulcr, J. (2019). Geosmithia species in southeastern USA and their affinity to beetle vectors and tree hosts. Fungal Ecol. 39, 168—183. doi: 10.1016/j.funeco.2019. 02.005.

 6. Castrillo et al. (2017) demonstrated that treatment of logs with the commercially available entomopathogenic fungal pathogens, Beauvaria bassiana or Metarhizium brunneum, provided suitable control of WTB populations. Similarly, Mayfield et al. (2019) tested Beauvaria bassiana as well as a synthetic pyrethroid against WTB infection of black walnut and found similar results.

 Castrillo, L.A., A.E Mayfield III, M.H. Griggs, R. Camp, B. Mudder, A. Taylor, and J.D. Vandenberg. 2017. Mortality and reduced brood production in walnut twig beetles, Pityophthorus juglandis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), following exposure to commercial strains of entomopathogenic fungi Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium brunneum. Biol. Control. 114: 79—86.

Order

 Under authority of section 21 of the Plant Pest Act (Act of December 16, P.L. 1228, No. 162, § 21) (3 P.S. § 258.21), and with the Recitals previously listed incorporated into this Order, the Department hereby rescinds the Quarantine Order published at 44 Pa.B. 5216, No. 31, issued Saturday, August 2, 2014, and all addenda thereto and with such repeals the classification of TCD, the fungus Geosmithia morbida and the walnut twig beetle, Pityophthorus juglandis, as a public nuisance and a plant pest.

RUSSELL C. REDDING, 
Secretary

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 22-82. Filed for public inspection January 14, 2022, 9:00 a.m.]


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