1. (a) Pest. Guava root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne enterolobii, syn. M. mayaguensis).
2. (b) Area Under Quarantine. The states of Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and North Carolina.

3. (c) Articles and Commodities Covered. The following articles and commodities are restricted entry into California when shipped from the area under quarantine.

   1. (1) All earth (including sand and soil) and potting media.
   2. (2) All plants with roots and other below-ground plant parts.
   3. (3) All rooted plant cuttings for propagation.
   4. (4) All soil and below-ground plant debris, including farming equipment that may host soil and/or roots.

   5. (5) Exemptions. The following articles and commodities are exempt from the quarantine:

      1. (A) Industrial sand and clay.
      2. (B) Air plants (including certain orchids and other plants produced epiphytically) if growing exclusively in or on soil-free material such as sphagnum moss, sponge rock, tree fern trunk, or bark.
      3. (C) Aquatic plants (those species growing in, on or under permanent water, either rooted in soil or free-floating) if free from soil.
      4. (D) Plants secured by air-layering if roots are established and enclosed in the original soil-free moss wrappings.
      5. (E) Cuttings taken at least 12 inches above ground level.
      6. (F) All fleshy roots, corms, tubers, and rhizomes if intended for edible or medicinal purposes and not for propagation, and washed or otherwise freed of soil.

4. (d) Restrictions.

   1. (1) Certification Requirements for Commodities from Area Under Quarantine. All commodities covered moving from the “Area Under Quarantine” listed in (b) above, whether moved directly from the said area or by diversion or reconsignment from any other point (without regard to period of time held or grown at any intermediate point), are prohibited entry unless each shipment or lot is accompanied by a certificate issued by the authorized agricultural official of the state, district, or commonwealth where the commodity is produced, and the certificate establishes that all material contained in the shipment or lot meets either (A), (B), or (C) below:

      1. (A) It has been determined through surveys, conducted at annual intervals (or during the one-year period prior to shipment), that guava root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne enterolobii, does not exist on the property or premise or facility used to grow the commodity, and that the seed or plant parts used for production of the plants were determined by the certifying officer to be free from guava root-knot nematode (the survey methods shall have been approved by the California Department of Food and Agriculture), or

      2. (B) The plants or plant parts being shipped to California were protected from guava root-knot nematode infestation by all the following sanitation methods:

         1. 1. Propagated from clean seed or produced from meristem tips (also known as "microstem tips") as this process excludes nematodes.
         2. 2. Planted in sterilized soil or other suitable material prepared or treated to assure freedom from guava root-knot nematode;
         3. 3. Retained in sterilized pots, containers, or beds;
         4. 4. Placed on sterilized benches or sterilized supports at least 18 inches from the ground or floor level;
         5. 5. Area beneath benches or supports holding plants treated at six-month intervals with a registered nematicide or other material having nematicidal value and approved by the origin state agricultural officials, except when smooth clean flooring of concrete is present;
         6. 6. Plants and growing media sampled using methods approved by the California Department of Food and Agriculture and found free of guava root-knot nematode;
         7. 7. Protected from contamination by guava root-knot nematode until shipped; or
      3. (C) The shipment consists of only unrooted plant cuttings, provided that the cuttings were taken from that portion of the plant which is growing at least 12 inches above ground level and were protected from contamination until shipped.

A quarantine is established against the following pest, its hosts, and possible carriers:

Note: Authority cited: Sections 407, 5301 and 5302, Food and Agricultural Code. Reference: Sections 5301 and 5302, Food and Agricultural Code.

History

1. New section filed 5-27-2025; operative 7-1-2025 (Register 2025, No. 22).