b'Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS). USDA APHIS ismends not to plant these seeds. currently running an investigation on the seeds to determine theIf a Virginia resident receives seeds, we ask that they report phytosanitary risks and run tests to determine what the pack- and send the seeds to the USDA, Wallace says. Its important ages contain.not to open the packets, and they should place the seeds along Weve received more than 9,000 emails from private citizenswith the mailing material in a Ziplock bag to send to the USDA.across the country who report receiving unsolicited seeds,Wallace notes that this helps cut down on the potential of says Osama El-Lissy, deputy administrator for APHISs Plantinvasive species getting into the Virginia ecosystem. Protection and Quarantine. We have collected 925 seed pack- Even throwing away the seeds can cause issues, Wallace ages as of Aug. 11. says. If anyone has planted seeds, we ask them to pull the plants When it comes to the concern of what these seeds contain,up, put all the material in a plastic bag and seal it. Then, we ask currently, APHIS hasnt found anything alarming about thesethat you bag it again and leave the plant in the sun for seven packages.days to kill it. After that, please throw away the plant and sanitize We found one seed that is found to contain a noxious weedthe pot.called dodder, but just one seed, El-Lissy says. Another seedThe most important thing the public can do right now is weve found is also another noxious weed called water spinach.report their package to the USDA and send it to the nearest Thats the extent of our findings so far. USDA office, El-Lissy says. People can now go on the APHIS In addition to a few weed seeds, APHIS also reports findingwebsite to report the seeds and find a list of locations by state one larva in a package.where they can send these seed shipments so our pathologists Weve found one larva in one seeda leaf beetle, El-Lissycan evaluate them.SWreports. Theyre common, at least most of the species are common in the United States. Other than that, we have notWHERE found anything alarming. ON THETo find up-to-date findings from APHISs investigation,However, even though nothing alarming has been found soWEB please visit www.aphis.usda.gov. far, state Departments of Agriculture and APHIS still recom-Partnering with You to Deliver the Industrys BestSorghum Partners top priority is providing premium sorghum hybrids to help improve your profi tability. We do it through sciencebringing over 30 years of industry leading genetics into each hybrid. We do it through research and developmentutilizing data from fi eld trials, our greenhouse, and current market trends. And we listensupporting the challenges of your operation with our best solutionsso we both succeed.Alfalfa, Sorghum & MoreNow Under One RoofCall 720.506.9191. Visit SorghumPartners.com, Facebook, and Twitter24/ SEEDWORLD.COMOCTOBER 2020'