Robert L. Forster letter to
Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman

The Honorable Dan Glickman
Secretary of Agriculture
14th and Independence Ave. SW
Suite 200
Washington DC 20250

Re: Karnal bunt of wheat

Dear Mr. Glickman:

I have followed the Karnal bunt (KB) developments closely via the Internet and through numerous personal contacts and wish to commend the United States Department of Agriculture for its prompt response to this emergency. Your attempts to identify contaminated seed lots and the wheat fields that were planted from them are prudent. However, eradication and a "zero tolerance" are not feasible or justified for reasons I will discuss below.

The outbreak of KB in the United States is somewhat analogous to the first report of rhizomania in sugar beets in Idaho in 1992. Rhizomania is a serious, yield-limiting, soilborne virus disease previously known to occur only in California and Texas. The Idaho Department of Agriculture convened a task force which initially gave serious consideration to plowing down the two or three diseased fields. However, it soon became apparent that several additional sugar beet fields were affected, and the task force realized that a plow down order would be fruitless. We turned our attention instead to identifying affected fields and developing plans to manage the disease.

As soon as word got out that rhizomania had been detected in Idaho, we were faced with quarantines of some of our other agricultural products such as bean seed (due to the soilborne nature of rhizomania and the possibility of introducing rhizomania into other states via soil particles mixed in with the seed). There was also talk of quarantining our seed potatoes, other seed crops, and even agriculture equipment such as discs and plows, all over the same concern about infested soil being moved with the product. If carried to an extreme, the quarantines could have brought agriculture in Idaho to a screeching halt! We countered the quarantines with educational efforts which resulted in a policy that was acceptable to all parties.

Regarding KB, plow down of a few wheat fields may have been justified if that was all that was affected. However, it is now apparent that the disease has been in the United States since as early as 1992 and that more than five varieties of wheat in at least two market classes in at least four states are affected. Potentially, several hundred thousand acres have been contaminated.

Eradication at this point is impossible! My view is shared by all of the plant pathologists with whom I have discussed KB, including two who are directly on or connected with the KB Science Panel. As you know, KB is considered a weak pathogen and causes minor yield losses in the field.

I am concerned about control of KB but even more concerned about the health and smooth operation of our wheat industry in the United States. At present, we lack the technology on how to decontaminate grain storage facilities and equipment. What happens if an elevator operator spends $10,000 to decontaminate his facility, and a month later one KB spore is found? How will you determine whether that spore is viable or not? How will you certify the laboratories involved in assaying the seed samples?

If bunted kernels are not present in the sample, will you require PCR analysis to be sure that the spores are not those of Tilletia barclayana (the rice smut pathogen)? Do you have EPA approval to use household bleach in the decontamination procedure? Will elevator operators willingly comply with the KB survey if they know they will be quarantined if the test results come back positive? Will a court order be necessary to make them comply?

Right now, the wheat industry in the United States is partially paralyzed. Durum millers in desperate need of more wheat have chosen not to buy wheat for fear that their facilities will become contaminated. Wheat buyers in southern California are in the same situation. Until we eliminate the zero tolerance provision, things will only get worse.

I understand the predicament you were in when 21 countries initially would not accept our wheat after KB was reported. Your attempt to find a workable solution with those countries is commendable. However, the "zero tolerance" provision in seed needs to be discarded and revisited with those countries. They need to understand that a zero tolerance is not feasible or justified in light of the current situation. Continued attempts at eradication of KB by APHIS will not only fail but are likely to severely disrupt wheat production in the entire United States!

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. I would like to discuss this with you further when I return to my office on Wednesday. May I call you then?

Sincerely,


Robert L. Forster
Professor of Plant Pathology

RLF:af

cc:
Senator Larry Craig
Senator Dirk Kempthorne
Mr. Terry Medley
Dr. Maury Wiese