Michigan says an alert greenhouse operator prevented the spread of a plant pathogen

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Michigan says an alert greenhouse operator prevented the spread of a plant pathogen

A plant pathogen with no known chemical control was found in a Michigan greenhouse, prompting a rapid response from state and local officials.

Jennifer Holton with the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development tells Brownfield Ralstonia solanacearum is a bacteria causing wilt disease in geraniums and several food crops including tomatoes and eggplants. “It can impact several important agricultural crops. Apparently, peppers as well, and it’s also known to cause southern wilt or bacterial wilt, brown rot of potato.”

Holton tells Brownfield the bacteria was found quickly thanks to a greenhouse operator who noticed unusual wilting of imported fantasia geraniums. “It is due to his alertness and his savviness at that greenhouse that we were able to react and implement all of the proper response techniques that we needed to, as fast as possible, both state and federal.”

The infected plants were shipped to 288 greenhouses in 38 states, and Holton says USDA and the states have already reached out to the infected plants and additional shipments have been stopped.  “The importer has already immediately stopped shipments of the geranium plants into the U.S. As soon as we had confirmation that it had even been detected, all of the shipments were voluntarily destroyed that were pending export or already en route to the U.S.

Holton says this bacterium has been eradicated in the U.S. before and is not a human health threat.

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