Verticillium dahliae CONTROL - Glenn County

I. Foreword

Verticillium dahliae is a serious pest of olive and pistachio trees and currently is of limited occurrence in Glenn County. To protect the county's olive and pistachio industries, it is necessary to enact a county ordinance restricting the movement and maintenance of articles and commodities declared as hosts for or possible carriers of this pest.

II. Regulated Articles

A. Cotton, in both commercial and non-commercial production.

B. Cotton seed.

C. Cotton plant parts, including cotton trash and debris.

D. Equipment used in cotton production and harvesting.

III. Restrictions

A. Cotton seed entering the county shall be held for inspection to insure that it is free from Verticillium dahliae.

B. Cotton and plant parts, including cotton trash and debris, entering the county shall be subject to inspection to insure that the transported material is in an enclosed vehicle adequately tarped and sufficiently free from loose debris to prevent loss in route.

C. All equipment entering the county or moving into a quarantine area (as defined in (III)(D)) that was used in cotton production and harvesting shall be held for inspection to insure that it is free from Verticillium dahliae.

D. Unless another area is defined, the quarantine area shall be outside that portion of the county bounded on the south by the Glenn-Colusa County line; on the west by the Tehama-Colusa Canal, from its intersection with the Glenn-Colusa County line to its intersection with State Highway 162; on the north, by State Highway 162 , from its intersection with the Tehama-Colusa Canal east to its intersection with State Highway 45, then east along an extension of the centerline of State Highway 162 to the east bank of the Sacramento River, then north to the Glenn-Butte County line; and on the east by the Glenn-Butte County line lying between the northern and southern boundaries described above, where the following restrictions apply:

1. Cotton shall not be grown, in either commercial or non-commercial production and shall not be ginned, processed, stored or otherwise maintained for any purpose or in any manner.

2. Cotton plant parts including cotton trash and debris, shall not be produced, processed, stored, maintained or be subjected to disposal by any means.

3. Cotton seed shall not be used, stored or processed in any manner.

On February 1 of each year, the location of the quarantine line, as described in (III)(D), may be reset or other lines established as necessary to advance the purpose of this ordinance.

E. Cotton may be grown, ginned, processed and maintained in that portion of Glenn County not described in (III) (D) provided that:

1. Cotton trash and debris generated from cleaning and processing operations is handled in a manner approved by the agricultural commissioner, and sufficient to prevent the spread of Verticillium dahliae; and

2. Cotton field debris and residue is incorporated into the top six inches of the soil where cotton is grown within ten days of harvest; and

3. Both the following restrictions on planting are followed:

a. Cotton shall not be grown successively at the same location, unless an examination of stalks conducted by the agricultural commissioner determines that the level of microsclerotia-infested stalks for the current and prior cotton crops produced at the location is less than ten percent (10%). The cost of each survey shall be established by the agricultural commissioner, based on actual county costs, and shall be paid in advance by the grower or property owner.

b. Prior to the replanting of cotton in an area previously planted with cotton, a nonsusceptible host has grown over the entire area for at least one cropping season.

IV. Exemptions

Whole cotton seed, when reasonably free of debris and used solely for livestock feed.

V. Penalties

Any person who violates or causes the violation of any provision of this ordinance is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $5,000.00 per violation or by imprisonment in the Glenn County jail for a period of up to one year or both.