{"id":1313,"date":"2020-08-04T14:21:59","date_gmt":"2020-08-04T14:21:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/agnewsandviews\/?p=1313"},"modified":"2020-08-04T14:38:03","modified_gmt":"2020-08-04T14:38:03","slug":"mystery-seeds-arrive-in-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/agnewsandviews\/2020\/08\/04\/mystery-seeds-arrive-in-texas\/","title":{"rendered":"Mystery Seeds Arrive in Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Texas residents are now among those across the nation receiving mysterious seeds delivered by mail in tiny bags marked as jewelry. U.S. Department of Agriculture<\/a>\u00a0officials are on alert because these seeds are unsolicited.<\/p>\n<\/header>\n

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\"packets<\/a>
Mystery seeds with labeling from China. (Source: Washington State Department of Agriculture)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Kevin Ong, Ph.D.,\u00a0Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service<\/a>\u00a0plant pathologist and director of the\u00a0Texas Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratory<\/a>\u00a0in College Station, said the concern arises because these packages have seeds in them instead of what is listed, and there is no information on what type they might be.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know what kind of seeds they are,\u201d Ong said. \u201cNot knowing what the seeds are could potentially open our agriculture industry up to noxious weeds. If that proves to be the case, if they take hold, they could impact agriculture negatively.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to\u00a0USDA-Animal, Plant Health Inspection Service, APHIS<\/a>, the\u00a0Plant Protection and Quarantine<\/a>, PPQ, regulates the importation of plants and plant products under the authority of the Plant Protection Act. PPQ maintains its import program to safeguard U.S. agriculture and natural resources from the risks associated with the entry, establishment or spread of animal and plant pests and noxious weeds. These regulations prohibit or restrict the importation of living plants, plant parts and seeds for propagation.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeds for planting can be produced all over the world and some you buy may come from other countries,\u201d Ong said. \u201cCompanies that sell these seeds have the necessary permits. In this situation, the source is not readily known. What USDA wants to know is why are people getting these and are they noxious weeds.\u201d<\/p>\n

What to do with mystery seeds<\/h3>\n

Do not simply discard these seeds as they can potentially germinate and escape into nature, Ong said. All cases should be reported to USDA and all packages should be kept secure until USDA gives further instructions.<\/p>\n

All incidences of receipt of these unrequested seeds in Texas should be reported to USDA-APHIS by sending an email to Carol Motloch, USDA-APHIS\u2019 Texas PPQ state operations coordinator, at\u00a0carol.m.motloch@usda.gov<\/a>. Other states should send emails to\u00a0SITCMail@usda.gov<\/a>. The email should include a contact email and phone number as well as a description of package information. Sending a photo of the label and material would also be helpful.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst, if you didn\u2019t order it, we don\u2019t want anyone planting these seeds or even opening the packages,\u201d said Larry Stein, Ph.D.,\u00a0Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service<\/a>\u00a0horticulturist, Uvalde. \u201cIt could be a scam, or it very well could be dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recommend anyone receiving the seeds send an email to USDA and then wait to see if they are asked to send them in,\u201d Stein said. \u201cWe would not advise throwing them away until more information is known because they might contaminate the landfill.\u201d<\/p>\n

To date, packages containing these mystery seeds have also been received in Washington, Virginia, Utah, Kansas, Louisiana and Arizona.<\/p>\n

Advice from\u00a0Texas Department of Agriculture Commissioner<\/a>\u00a0Sid Miller is that anyone receiving a foreign package containing seeds should not open it. Keep contents contained in their original sealed package.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am urging folks to take this matter seriously,\u201d Miller said in a press release. \u201cAn invasive plant species might not sound threatening, but these small invaders could destroy Texas agriculture. TDA has been working closely with USDA to analyze these unknown seeds so we can protect Texas residents.\u201d<\/p>\n

An\u00a0invasive species<\/a>\u00a0is an organism that is not native to a particular region. The introduction of this \u201calien species\u201d can cause economic or environmental harm. In agriculture, an invasive species can destroy native crops, introduce disease to native plants and may be dangerous for livestock.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

Kay Ledbetter, Associate Editor\/Communication Specialist – Texas AgriLife Research and Texas AgriLife Extension Service.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Texas residents are now among those across the nation receiving mysterious seeds delivered by mail in tiny bags marked as jewelry. U.S. Department of Agriculture\u00a0officials are on alert because these… Read More →<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":609,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-uncategorized","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMystery Seeds Arrive in Texas - Ag News and Views<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/agnewsandviews\/2020\/08\/04\/mystery-seeds-arrive-in-texas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mystery Seeds Arrive in Texas - Ag News and Views\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Texas residents are now among those across the nation receiving mysterious seeds delivered by mail in tiny bags marked as jewelry. 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