OAR 603-052-1025: Quarantine; Small Broomrape

(1) Establishing Quarantine. A quarantine is established to prevent the spread of small broomrape, Orobanche minor, within Oregon and to protect markets for Oregon seed crops. This quarantine is established under ORS 561.510 and 561.540 to protect Oregon's agricultural industries from the artificial spread of small broomrape. Small broomrape is not widely prevalent within or distributed throughout the state of Oregon. Small broomrape is dangerous to Oregon's agricultural industries because it parasitizes the root systems of host crop plants in the legume, potato, carrot and sunflower families. Clover is the most susceptible host. Damage includes direct yield losses, up to and including crop failure, as well as possible market losses due to restrictions imposed by trading partners on commodities potentially contaminated with small broomrape seed. (2) Area under Quarantine: State of Oregon. (3) Commodities Covered: Small broomrape plants including seeds, clover (Trifolium pretense, T. repens, and T. subterraneum) seed, and soil, commodities and equipment that may be contaminated with small broomrape seeds. (4) Provisions of the Quarantine: (a) Imported red clover seed lots must have been cleaned by a process that includes, at a minimum, the stages in (4)(b)(A)–(C) below or an official seed sample must be taken and tested prior to planting to ensure freedom from contamination by small broomrape seed. Contaminated lots will be returned or destroyed without expense or indemnity paid by the State. (b) All red clover seed lots harvested in counties west of the Cascade Mountains must be cleaned by an approved process before transport, purchase, sale or offering for sale. Approved cleaning processes must include, at a minimum, all the stages in (A)–(C) below. Seed lots meeting this requirement need not be sampled and tested for small broomrape contamination. (A) Air separator; (B) Indent roller; (C) Gravity separator. (c) Alternative cleaning processes may also be acceptable if approved by the Department. Cleaning facilities using alternative processes must be under compliance agreement with the Department. (d) The Department may take random samples of finished red clover seed lots from cleaners meeting the requirements of (b) or (c) above and test them for small broomrape. The cost of this random sampling and testing will be born by the Department. If small broomrape is found, cleaning of red clover seed will be curtailed until the cleaning process is reviewed and problems corrected. All available clover seed lots from that cleaner will be sampled and tested for small broomrape. Any infested lots will be re-cleaned and released only after testing negative for small broomrape. The costs of all follow-up sampling and testing after a positive find will be the responsibility of the cleaner. The cleaner will be put under compliance agreement before additional lots of red clover seed may be cleaned. (e) Seed lots not meeting the cleaning requirements outlined in (b) or (c) above must be officially sampled, tested and found free of small broomrape seeds before transport, purchase, sale or offering for sale. Upon request, Department inspectors will draw official seed samples, which will be analyzed at a laboratory using a USDA-approved protocol for small broomrape testing. Costs of sampling and testing will be the responsibility of the grower or other responsible party. Contact: Market Access and Certification Programs, Oregon Department of Agriculture, 635 Capitol St. NE, Salem, OR 97301. Telephone: (503) 986-4620. Any seed lots found to contain small broomrape seed are prohibited from transport, purchase, sale, or offering for sale until they are re-cleaned, re-tested and determined to be free from small broomrape. (f) Screenings from seed lots contaminated with small broomrape shall be disposed of in a manner that will devitalize the seed or eliminate the risk of spread of the weed such as pelletization, burning or burying. (5) Violation of this quarantine may result in a fine, if convicted, of not less than $500 not more than $5,000, as provided by ORS 561.990(4). Violators may also be subject to civil penalties of up to $10,000 as provided by Oregon Laws 1999, chapter 390, section 2. Commodities harvested or shipped in violation of this quarantine shall be treated or destroyed without expense or indemnity paid by the State.