Take fire blight seriously, ask about ZPb2

Foreword
Fire blight is an extremely infectious plant disease that can cause the rapid death of a large number of trees. Special buffer zones make the chance of infection and spreading extremely minimal. However, nurseries that are located in one of these buffer zones do not automatically have fire blight free plants. Specialist Pieter van den Berk explains.

Attention ZPb2 Plant Passport
The creation of buffer zones is a good way to counter the spread of this disease. How are these buffer zones maintained? ”The Netherlands Plant Protection Service ensures that absolutely no fire blight is present in the buffer zones”, says Pieter van den Berk.
”Communal green spaces and the plants in the nurseries in the buffer zones that pay for the inspections are given a thorough inspection. The nurseries that pass this tough inspection are permitted to display the ZPb2 plant passport. This passport guarantees that plants are free of fire blight and that the bacteria are not even present in its latent form.
The main host plants are Malus, Pyrus, Sorbus, Amelanchier and Crataegus. Van den Berk Nurseries can supply these and other trees with the ZPb2 plant passport.”

No inspection, no ZPb2
Maintaining the buffer zones costs money, a great deal of money. Inspection fees were formerly paid by the Dutch government. Pieter van den Berk: ”However, for some years now, it has been the nurseries that are located in the buffer zones that must pay the inspection fees. Not all nurseries are prepared to do this.

Those who do not pay are not inspected and do not receive a ZPb2 plant passport. This is why they are not permitted to export plants to countries that want the ZPb2 certificate.
As a principal, it is important to ascertain that the grower can present the ZPb2 plant passport in order to guarantee a fire blight free delivery.”