Trade at the state level is regulated by the State's Department of Agriculture, not Federal (APHIS). The vigilance of California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) may have excluded the nematode or the soil is different enough that the nematode has not been able to become established if it was ever introduced. Increasingly tropical plants are being utilized as seasonal "annuals" they are all the rage. On Jan 18, 2010, at 1:48 PM, totototo@telus.net wrote: > On 17 Jan 2010, at 21:05, Diane Whitehead wrote: > >> This is very strange. All the crops Radopholus similis attacks seem >> to be sub-tropical and tropical, like banana, avocado, coconut, >> coffee, sugar cane. >> >> In the U.S., it attacks citrus in Florida, but not in California. >> >> It makes no sense for it to be present in other states of the U.S. >> >> And why would it be present in England and the Netherlands? No >> bananas grow there except perhaps for a few decorative ones in >> private >> greenhouses. > > You didn't pay attention or read far enough. It occurs in > greenhouses, too. And > "prayer plant" (Maranta sp.), which is a very common houseplant. > > Iit doesn't attack citrus in California because the California state > department > of agriculture aggressively combats infestations due to infested > plants brought > in from out of state. > > All this information crops up in the first two or three Google hits on > "radopholus similis". > > California quarantines plants from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, > Georgia, Hawaii, > Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and > Puerto Rico. > > http://plpnemweb.ucdavis.edu/nemaplex/taxadata/… > > [third hit on Google] > > > -- > Rodger Whitlock > Victoria, British Columbia, Canada > Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate > on beautiful Vancouver Island > > http://maps.google.ca/maps/… > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ William Aley aley_wd@me.com http://www.aley.william.name/