That bargain grapevine you picked up on a Costco run might be more trouble than it is worth, Napa County officials are warning.
Napa County agricultural officials said today that grapevines sold at some Northern California Costco stores may be carrying the invasive glassy-winged sharpshooter, a leafhopper that can spread a bacterium often fatal to grapevines. Inspectors say dozens of suspect potted vines from recent shipments are still missing, and teams are scrambling to track down plants in backyards and on patios before the pest spreads.
Where the plants came from
In a press release via the Napa County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office, officials said 220 grapevines shipped from Burchell Nursery in Fresno County were delivered to a Napa Costco between April 21 and late May. Crews have destroyed 63 of those plants and located one egg mass, while 157 vines remain unaccounted for. The county said shipments were also sent to Costco stores in Yolo, Solano, Sonoma and Marin counties, prompting a multi-county effort to find, isolate and inspect any suspect plants.
Why growers are alarmed
The glassy-winged sharpshooter can carry the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, which causes Pierce’s disease, a deadly infection for grapevines, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Pierce’s Disease program. There is no cure for Pierce’s disease; infected vines are typically removed to prevent further spread, making early detection and containment critical in a place that lives and breathes wine grapes.
What to do if you bought a vine
County guidance asks anyone who bought a grapevine, citrus tree or other fruit tree at a Costco during April or May to keep the plant in its original pot, not to plant or move it, and to place it in two sealed trash bags if possible before contacting their local agricultural commissioner’s office for inspection. An inspector can examine the plant and, if necessary, set monitoring traps or remove the vine. Residents are told not to return, transport, compost or discard suspect plants into household green-waste, the county warns, as reported by The Sacramento Bee.
Costco, the nursery and next steps
The supplier has been identified as Burchell Nursery, and Costco is directly contacting members who bought the plants and cooperating with county authorities, the county release says. Marin County Agricultural Commissioner Joe Deviney told The Sacramento Bee that Costco is not at fault here, and they’ve been an exceptional partner throughout this process.
