Sudden oak death (SOD), Phytophthora ramorum, is a federally quarantined pathogen that has caused widespread dieback of tanoak and other oak species in forested areas of 15 counties in California and parts of Curry County, Oregon. It has also been found infecting horticultural plants at nurseries in California, Oregon, and Washington.
History of SOD in Oregon's nurseries
Sudden oak death (SOD) was first found in an Oregon nursery in 2003. It has been detected in limited nursery sites every year since then. When detected, the nursery must complete all requirements of the USDA confirmed nursery protocol.
Requirements include the following:
- Immediate quarantine of positive nursery
- Delimitation surveys to assess the extent of the infection
- Destruction of all infected plant material
- Trace survey inspections of all host material shipped and received by the nursery for previous 6 months
- Survey monitoring by inspection and sampling for the next 3 years
While more than 135 plants have been proven to be hosts of SOD, the following five are detected most often:
- Camellia
- Pieris
- Rhododendron
- Viburnum
- Kalmia
SOD regulations
Shipping
Oregon nurseries shipping plants out of state that are located within the quarantine area of Curry County or that have been found positive since March 31, 2011, are required to meet requirements of the
USDA Federal Order 7 CFR 301.92.
Receiving
Recipients of tree and shrub nursery stock imported into Oregon are required to notify ODA.