AmericanHort, HRI Urge Ralstonia “Select Agent” Delisting

On May 15, AmericanHort and our Horticultural Research Institute foundation submitted official comments to USDA’s Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service urging that Ralstonia solanacearum Race 3 Biovar 2 be removed from the federal “select agent” list. The list includes biological agents and toxins determined to have the potential to pose a severe threat to both human and animal health, to plant health, or to animal and plant products. The comments were submitted in response to a periodic review.

The AmericanHort/HRI comments pointed to recent research calling into question the “select agent” listing for Ralstonia. While the bacterial pathogen would remain a federal quarantine pest, delisting it as a select agent would ease severe limitations on both research and laboratory diagnostics.