RSA 433:21

NURSERIES AND NURSERY STOCK

 


Revision note. The provisions enacted by 1985, 33:1, eff. July 1, 1985, were substituted for those appearing as RSA 433:21-433:29, as enacted by 1985, 72:1 eff. July 1, 1985 pursuant to the authority conferred by 1985, 33:3 and 1985, 72:5. Appropriate changes in numbering, terminology and references were made pursuant to the same authority.

433:21 Definitions.

In this subdivision:

I. "Certificates" means nursery inspection certificates issued by the director.
II. "Certified Stock" means plants and plant parts defined as nursery stock which bear a valid, unexpired certificate attesting that the stock has been inspected and found to be apparently free of injurious insects and plant diseases.
III. "Collected plants" means plants and plant parts defined as nursery stock, which are dug or otherwise removed from fields, woodlots, or forested lands for sale or distribution, which have not been grown under cultivation in a nursery for a year.
IV. "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food.
V. "Dealer" means any person, firm, partnership, association or corporation not a grower or an original producer of nursery stock in New Hampshire who buys or acquires, or receives on consignment nursery stock for the purposes of re-selling, transporting or otherwise disposing of the stock.
VI. "Department" means the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food.
VII. "Director" means the state entomologist, qualified by scientific training and practical experience, directly answerable to the commissioner, in charge of and responsible for the activities of the division of plant industry. He shall also be the state nursery inspector.
VIII. "Division" means the division of plant industry of the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food.
IX. "Eradication" means the elimination or removal of a pest from any defined geographic area.
X. "Horticultural services" means any arborist, landscape architect or private gardener whose function is that of providing services, when obtaining or transporting certified nursery stock for which the nurseryman's price has been paid in full by his employer.
XI. "Nursery" means the grounds and premises, private or public, on or in which nursery stock is propagated, grown or cultivated for the purpose of distributing or selling nursery stock as a business and shall include grounds or premises owned, leased or managed by the state or any agency of the state.
XII. "Nursery inspectors" means persons either full-time employees of the division or knowledgeable individuals hired on a part-time basis to conduct the work of the division.
XIII. "Nurseryman" means a person who owns, leases, manages or is in charge of a nursery. All persons engaged in operating a nursery are farming within the meaning of RSA 21:34-a.
XIV. "Nursery stock" means all hardy deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs, brambles, woody vines, woody florist stock and herbaceous annuals and perennials, their roots, cuttings, grafts, scions, buds, fruit pits, seeds and plant parts thereof, including any collected plants, for and capable of propagation.
XV. "Plant diseases" means fungi, bacteria, nematodes, viruses, and plant parasites injurious to plants and plant products; the pathological conditions in plants and plant products caused by fungi, bacteria, nematodes, viruses and plant parasites.
XVI. "Plant pests" means any organism, including other plants, causing or capable of causing injury or damage to plants or plant products.
XVII. "Public nuisance" means a plant pest determined by the department to be dangerous or destructive to the agriculture or horticulture of New Hampshire.
XVIII. "Quarantine" means legal action intended to prevent or delay the establishment of a pest of plants or crops.
XIX. "Soil" means the commonly accepted medium or other medium in which plants are grown and which is or may be capable of harboring or transmitting insect pests and plant diseases.
XX. "Stop sale order" means a written notice issued by an inspector to the owner or custodian of any plant or plant products, which prohibits the sale or movement of the plants or plant products.

Source. 1985, 33:1, eff. July 1, 1985.

433:22 Rulemaking Authority.

The commissioner shall adopt rules under RSA 541-A relative to:

I. The issuing of orders under the provision of this subdivision.
II. The issuing of certificates as may be necessary.
III. Establishing fees for certificates issued under this subdivision, as well as any publications printed for distribution to the general public.
IV. The collection of fees under this subdivision.
V. The printing, publishing, posting and distribution of reports made available to the public.
VI. Quarantine measures that may be taken when pests are found in any geographic area.
VII. Reasonable rules as may be needed to carry out and enforce the provisions of this subdivision.

Source. 1985, 33:1, eff. July 1, 1985.

433:23 Certified Stock.

All nursery stock shipped into New Hampshire shall bear on each consignment or package an unexpired certificate that the contents of that consignment or package have been inspected by a duly authorized inspecting officer, and that the contents are apparently free from all dangerous insects and plant diseases, and are therefore certified stock.

Source. 1985, 33:1, eff. July 1, 1985.

433:24 Cooperative Agreements; Grants-in-Aid.

The department is authorized to cooperate, receive grants-in-aid, and enter into agreements with any individual, organization, or county, state or federal agency for the purpose of implementing the provisions of this subdivision. The department may also enforce any federal quarantine or regulation promulgated under federal quarantine or regulation promulgated under federal quarantine within the state of New Hampshire.

Source. 1985, 33:1, eff. July 1, 1985.

433:25 Fees. The commissioner may establish reasonable fees pursuant to RSA 433:22, III.

Source. 1985, 33:1, eff. July 1, 1985.

433.26 Director.

The director may hire such nursery inspectors as he may deem necessary within his budgetary limitations.

Source. 1985, 33:1, eff. July 1, 1985.

433:27 Regulation of Horticultural Services.

Any person engaged in horticultural services and nurserymen shall be subject to regulation by the commissioner under this subdivision.

Source. 1985, 33:1, eff. July 1, 1985.

433:28 Nursery Stock Requirements.

I. Woody-stemmed deciduous nursery stock shall have moist green cambium tissue in the stem or stems and branches, and shall have viable buds or normal green unwilted growth sufficient to permit the stock to live and grow in a form characteristic of the species when planted and given reasonable care, except that in the case of rose bushes each stem shall show moist green undamaged cambium above the graft. Nursery stock which does not meet those standards shall not be sold or offered for sale.
II. Hardy herbaceous biennials or perennials when in a wilted, rotted or other such condition indicative of subnormal vitality shall not be sold or offered for sale.
III. Any bare-rooted or prepackaged woody-stemmed nursery stock having more than 2 inches of etiolated (nongreen) growth from individual buds shall not be sold or offered for sale.
IV. Balled and burlapped nursery stock in a weakened condition as evidenced by die-back or dryness of foliage shall not be sold or offered for sale.

Source. 1985, 33:1, eff. July 1, 1985.

433:29 Nursery Inspection; Certificate.

The director shall, either personally or through his nursery inspectors, inspect at least once each year all nurseries or places in the state where nursery stock is grown, sold or offered for sale and if no dangerous insect or other plant pests are found there, a certificate to that effect shall be given. If such pests are found there the owner of the stock shall take such measures to suppress the pests as the inspector shall prescribe. No certificate shall be given until the inspector has satisfied himself by subsequent inspection that all such pests have been suppressed.

Source. 1985, 33:L1, eff. July 1, 1985.

433:30 Diseased, Infested Stock; Stop Sale, Destruction.

I. Only sound, healthy nursery stock which will maintain its vigor shall be offered for sale. The offering for sale of stock which is infected with diseases or infected with destructive pests is a violation of this subdivision. Whenever the director has reason to believe that any nursery or dealer in the state has introduced or is offering for sale diseased or infested stock, the director or a nursery inspector shall inspect that stock. If, upon inspection, the director or a nursery inspector finds any such stock, he may order the plants, either individually or in blocks, to be:

(a) Made subject to a stop sale order.
(b) Treated by the nurseryman.
(c) Destroyed according to the nursery inspector's instructions.

II. Plants ordered destroyed or subject to a stop sale order must be clearly separable from noninfested stock. Any order must be confirmed in writing within 7 days. The order shall include the reason for action, a description of the nursery stock affected, and any recommended treatment. Destruction of condemned stock shall be at the expense of the owner. Stop sale tags may not be removed except by written permission of the director or upon suitable disposal of the infested plants.
III. A person issued any order under paragraph I may appeal that order by letter to the commissioner within 15 days after receiving the order. The letter shall state any grounds for appealing and designate the plants affected.

Source. 1985, 33:1, eff. July 1, 1985.

433:31 Lack of Certificate.

If nursery stock is brought into the state without a certificate of inspection, the consignee shall return it to the consignor at the expense of the consignor, or shall call the director to inspect the nursery stock.

Source. 1985, 33:1, eff. July 1, 1985.

433:32 Penalty.

Any person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor if that person:

I. Sells, distributes, receives or delivers nursery stock which has not been inspected and certified;
II. Uses a certificate of inspection after it has been revoked or suspended or has expired.
III. Offers any hindrance or resistance to the carrying out of the provisions of this subdivision;
IV. Knowingly permits any plant pest declared a public nuisance to exist on his premises or sells, offers for sale, gives away or moves any plants, plant products or other material capable of harboring the pest;
V. Violates any other provisions of this subdivision or any rule of the commissioner adopted under this subdivision.

Source. 1985, 33:1, eff. July 1, 1985.

433:33 Right of Entry.

The commissioner, director, and nursery inspectors shall at all times have the right to enter any public or private grounds in the performance of any duty under this subdivision.

Source. 1985, 33:1, eff. July 1, 1985.

433:34 Quarantine.

The commissioner may establish quarantines as specified in the law or under his rules to prevent the dissemination of plant pests within the state. When any pests that have the potential to cause serious damage to agriculture are found in any geographic area, that area and any adjacent areas shall be quarantined. After a quarantine is established, the commissioner shall adopt any rules necessary to prevent or reduce the movement of that pest from the quarantined area and may implement any limitation or treatment measures necessary for the containment or eradication of that pest.

Source. 1985, 33:1, eff. July 1, 1985.

433:35 Suspension of Certificate.

The director may at any time suspend a certificate issued under the provisions of RSA 433:29 if dangerous insect or plant disease pests are found upon the premises, either on the plants or in the soil, and shall not reinstate the certificate until such time as such pests have been suppressed or eradicated.

Source. 1985, 33:1, eff. July 1, 1985.

433:36 Prosecution.

Any person violating the provisions of this subdivision shall be prosecuted by the office of the attorney general.

Source. 1985, 33:1, eff. July 1, 1985.

back.gif (1335 bytes)up.gif (1318 bytes)next.gif (1335 bytes)