Posted: September 1, 2000

ODA issues quarantine on glassy-winged sharpshooter

Quarantine Document

August 30, 2000...The Oregon Department of Agriculture has established an emergency quarantine against glassy-winged sharpshooter-- a small leaf-hopping insect that could threaten the state's multi-million dollar wine grape industry. The insect is known to carry the bacterium causing Pierce's Disease, which kills plants by choking off their ability to consume water and nutrients. Insect traps placed by ODA have caught two glassy-winged sharpshooters in nurseries located near Aurora. However, there is no evidence that the insect has become established in Oregon.

Pierce's Disease has caused extensive problems in Southern California. The quarantine, established with the cooperation and support of Oregon's wine and nursery industries, attempts to protect the industries by preventing the introduction and spread of the glassy-winged sharpshooter.

Areas covered by the quarantine include Mexico, 11 counties of California, several Southern states infested with glassy-winged sharpshooter, and any other states or counties found to be infested with the insect during the life of the quarantine. Grapevines and a variety of nursery plants from affected areas are impacted by the quarantine.

The emergency quarantine requires nursery stock being shipped into Oregon from infested areas be treated by an appropriate pesticide prior to shipment or to come from nurseries under a compliance agreement with the state of origin's agriculture department. Such agreements require adherence to specific protocols to ensure the nursery stock is free of glassy-winged sharpshooter.

Sites within Oregon where glassy-winged sharpshooter is found associated with plants imported from the area under quarantine must be treated with an insecticide labeled for leafhoppers. The requirement extends to plant material within a reasonable buffer zone approved by the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

While potentially devastating to the state's nearly 10,000 acres of wine grapes, Pierce's Disease has never been found in Oregon. It is unknown whether the bacterium or the sharpshooters can survive the cooler climate of Oregon. Still, state officials feel it is important to take preventive measures to protect Oregon's important wine and nursery industries.

The emergency quarantine goes into effect immediately.

For more information, contact Dan Hilburn at (503) 986-4644.