Quarantine approved for five Virginia counties, two cities

The Virginia Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services finalized a quarantine that targets walnut trees last Thursday at its meeting, according to a press release.

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services announced the Thousand Cankers Disease Quarantine for five Virginia counties and two cities. Commissioner Matthew J. Lohr had established the quarantine this past July.

The quarantine is set to become permanent on January 2 of next year after it is published in the Virginia Register.

The effort drives at staving off the artificial dispersal of Thousand Canker Disease, which attacks walnut trees. A fungus is transmitted by the walnut twig beetle and it creates small cankers that develop beneath tree bark

The beetle passes the fungus while boring beneath the bark. Nutrients ultimately cannot be passed and the tree ultimately succumbs to the scourge. Trees die from the top down after having been infested for years prior to demonstrating symptoms.

The counties for which TCD was approved are Chesterfield, Hanover, Henrico, Goochland and Powhatan. Richmond and Colonial Heights are the cities.