Mother Nature seems to be releasing her fury on the US – first murderous hornets, then giant lizards and now a deadly plant bacteria.
Greenhouses in Michigan have been ordered to destroy any Fantasia Pink Flare geraniums imported from Guatemala, as the flowers are carrying a bacteria that could threaten food crops across the nation.
The plant pathogen, known as Ralstonia solanacearum race 3 biovar 2 (RS r3b2), is transmitted through the soil and water irrigation, and causes plants to wilt.
The invasive bacteria is also capable of jumping to other crops such as potatoes, peppers and tomatoes.
The disease has made its way into the US before and the federal government has labeled it a ‘select agent’ because it can be used in bioterrorism.
The plant pathogen, known as Ralstonia solanacearum race 3 biovar 2 (RS r3b2), is transmitted through the soil and water irrigation, and causes plants to wilt
Elizabeth Dorman, a plant pathology lab manager at the state agriculture department, told AP: ‘This disease in particular (could cause) major devastation to our food crops, like potatoes, peppers and tomatoes.’
‘Countries that are dealing with this disease cannot ever plant these crops back into that same soil.
‘There’s no effective chemical control to manage the disease.’
This is not the first time RS r3b2 has invaded the US.
Experts found the deadly disease in 2003 and again in 2004 on geraniums imported to the US.
It has also been reported in more than 30 countries and almost all continents around the globe.
Greenhouses in Michigan have been ordered to destroy any Fantasia Pink Flare geraniums (pictured) imported from Guatemala, as the flowers are carrying a bacteria that could threaten food crops across the nation
If the stem is cut horizontally, a sticky, milk-colored ooze will be seen. When the freshly-cut stem is placed in water, white ooze will stream out of it
The bacteria is transmitted from plant to plant through the soil, irrigation water and equipment used by greenhouses.
It can survive for days to years in water, wet soils or deep soil layers depending on temperature conditions.
And there is no effective chemical control to eradicate it.
Not only has Michigan received the flowers, but officials noted 288 greenhouses across the US were also selling the diseased geraniums.
MLive reported that a greenhouse in eastern Michigan got the geraniums as a sample from a facility in New York, which has been shipping the plants around the country.
Experts at Michigan State University said symptoms can appear rather quickly and the process tends to speed up in temperatures over 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
On the other hand, the pathogen can also harbor inside geraniums for long periods of time without any symptoms.
‘The bacterium can survive in water and soil depending on the soil type and temperature,’ Dorman and her colleagues shared in a press release.
‘Water effluent from infected plants typically contains the bacterium that can then infect and contaminate other plants.’
The disease is known as brown rot (or bacterial wilt) in a potato (c) and bacterial wilt of tomato. In both crops, the first symptoms begin as wilting or flagging in young leaves near the top or outer branches of the plant
‘For instance, the water draining from infected geraniums in baskets hanging overhead would likely contain this pathogen and spread it to the plants underneath.’
As the disease becomes more severe, the stem may also turn black, resulting in the death of the plant.
If the stem is cut horizontally, a sticky, milk-colored ooze will be seen.
When the freshly-cut stem is placed in water, white ooze will stream out of it.
Michigan is a huge producer of potatoes and tomatoes in the US, but both of these crops are high susceptible to RS r3b2.
The disease is known as brown rot (or bacterial wilt) in a potato and bacterial wilt of tomato.
In both crops, the first symptoms begin as wilting or flagging in young leaves near the top or outer branches of the plant.