8 Colo. Code Regs. § 1203-18-5.00
Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 1, January 10, 2025
Section 8 CCR 1203-18-5.00 - Statements of Basis and Purpose5.1. February 11, 2004- Effective May 3, 2004 Statutory Authority
This Quarantine and associated rules are imposed pursuant to the Pest Control Act, §§ 35-4-110 and 116, C.R.S. (2003).
Purpose
The purpose of this Quarantine is to protect the potato fields in Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Rio Grande and Saguache counties against the over wintering host of the primary aphid vector of certain viral diseases that affect potatoes. The purposes of these Rules are to enforce the provisions of the Quarantine against the importation of Prunus species into Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Rio Grande and Saguache Counties, Colorado, to recover the actual costs to offset the cash funds expended for services performed by the Commissioner in imposing the Quarantine, and to specify how such actual costs shall be recovered.
Factual Findings
The Commissioner of Agriculture finds as follows:
1. Approximately 75,000 acres in Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Rio Grande and Saguache Counties in Colorado are planted annually to produce potatoes.2. Viral diseases affecting potatoes have cost producers in the San Luis Valley up to $4 million per year.3. Vector-borne viral diseases such as potato leaf roll virus (PLRV) and potato virus Y (PVY) carried by the Green Peach Aphid (Myzus persicae) are economically very damaging viral diseases.4. PLRV infection of potatoes can have serious effects on yield and quality in certain varieties, especially Russet Norkotah. Over 50 percent of the commercial potato acres in the San Luis Valley are currently planted to Russet Norkotah.5.Prunus species, primarily plum trees, are the primary over wintering host of green peach aphid in the San Luis Valley.6. The Colorado Potato Administrative Committee along with Agro Engineering, Inc., has been conducting a monitoring and suppression program of the green peach aphid in the Valley for over seventeen years. This program involves monitoring aphid populations, mapping Prunus species, removing Prunus species from private landowner properties, and spraying Prunus species with insecticide to reduce or eliminate over wintering green peach aphid populations. Even with these activities in place, the 2003 certified seed potato program had the fourth highest rejection level for PLRV and the third highest rejection level for PVY in the last 35 years.7. By preventing new Prunus species from being planted in the San Luis Valley from this point forward, along with other eradiation efforts of current Prunus species, over time this should eliminate all over wintering hosts of the green peach aphid. These activities should effectively eradicate the green peach aphid from the San Luis Valley and greatly reduce the financial impact of viral diseases on potatoes.8. The absence of a Quarantine to protect Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Rio Grande and Saguache County, Colorado potato fields against the over wintering host of viral diseases increases the risk of infection and presence of these costly diseases.