APHIS Reduces Karnal Bunt (Tilletia indica) Regulated Areas in Pinal County in Arizona

FOR INFORMATION AND ACTION
DA-2024-41
October 11, 2024

Subject: APHIS Reduces Karnal Bunt (Tilletia indica) Regulated Areas in Pinal County in Arizona

To: State, Tribal, and Territory Agricultural Regulatory Officials

Effective immediately, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is reducing the Karnal bunt regulated areas in Pinal County, Arizona. This follows a review of the results of the Spring 2024 survey of Karnal bunt-regulated areas in Arizona.

Specifically, APHIS is removing four fields in Pinal County from the list of regulated areas because these fields meet the five-year cumulative tillage requirement included in the criteria for deregulation listed in 7 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)§ 301.89-3(e)(2). Release of these four fields from quarantine, including all fields regulated by proximity, will result in the deregulation of 842 field acres (36 fields). None of this acreage is on Tribal land. With this change, the new total regulated area in Arizona is 4,990 field acres.

Accordingly, there are no more restrictions on the interstate movement of Karnal bunt-regulated articles from these areas; however, other portions of Maricopa and Pinal Counties in Arizona remain regulated. The Arizona Department of Agriculture (AZDA) has established a parallel state quarantine.

Karnal bunt is a fungal pest that affects wheat quality. APHIS regulates this plant disease because many trading partners require that U.S. wheat be certified as grown in areas free of Karnal bunt. APHIS appreciates the cooperative relationship with the Ak-Chin Indian Community, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, the wheat industry, and AZDA in the effort to limit the spread of Karnal bunt. APHIS will follow this action by publishing a notice in the Federal Register. 

More information about the Karnal Bunt Program and Federal Karnal bunt regulations are available at the following website: APHIS Karnal Bunt webpage.

For more details on the Karnal Bunt Program and Federal Karnal bunt regulations, please contact:

Lynn Evans-Goldner 
National Policy Manager 
Telephone: 301- 851-2286 
Email: lynn.evans-goldner@usda.gov

Attachment: Federal Order (177.91 KB)