(1) It is unlawful for any person to introduce into this state from another state, territory, or foreign country any citrus plant or citrus plant product or propagation therefrom without a permit issued by the department, unless specifically excluded by the rules of the department. Any such citrus plant or citrus plant product or propagation therefrom introduced into the state from another state, territory, or foreign country without a permit issued by the department, or any plants propagated thereafter from such materials, are unlawful and declared to be contraband and shall be confiscated and destroyed. No compensation shall be allowed for any plant, product, or propagation confiscated and destroyed pursuant to this section.

(2) All genera of the Rutaceous subfamilies Aurantioideae, Rutoideae, and Toddalioideae shall be regulated under the provisions of this chapter unless exempted under paragraph (4)(g).

(3) Application for a permit to introduce into this state from another state, territory, or foreign country any citrus plant or citrus plant product or propagation therefrom shall be made on an application form to be formulated by the department.

(4) In considering an application for a permit to introduce into this state from another state, territory, or foreign country any citrus plant or citrus plant product or propagation therefrom, the department shall consider the following guidelines:

(a) Only budwood of clones not available in Florida will be introduced, and no citrus budwood will be permitted entry if the desired clone is known to be reproducible by seed.

(b) The clones introduced must:

1. Have been evaluated by the Citrus Budwood Technical Advisory Committee as having desirable and superior characteristics to warrant testing under Florida field conditions prior to possible release as a new clone; or

2. Be of a type desirable:

a. For research; or

b. As a breeding stock to be used by the agricultural experiment stations in Florida.

(c) The parent trees from which the imported citrus budwood is to be taken must be free, or apparently free, from serious citrus pests. Whenever possible, budwood must be taken from plants adequately tested and certified free of disease at the point of origin.

(d) Each shipment of imported citrus budwood must be accompanied by a special permit issued by the Division of Plant Industry of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and must be sent directly to the Division of Plant Industry in Gainesville, Florida.

(e) All introduced citrus budwood must be grown for a period of time to be determined by the Division of Plant Industry in a secure Division of Plant Industry greenhouse or screenhouse that has been made as insect-proof as feasible, or under other acceptable conditions mutually agreed upon by the division and the importer of budwood. It shall be isolated from other citrus as much as possible. Introduced budwood shall be subject to tests for recognized virus and virus-like pathogens for which there are reliable tests. Such tests will be started as soon as possible after arrival of the budwood in Florida. After a complete determination, the budwood will be released to the person or institution responsible for its growing, testing, propagation, and distribution.

(f) When tests are completed, new clones will be evaluated by the Citrus Budwood Technical Advisory Committee. If the committee recommends the release and distribution of any clone to the industry, a portion of this clone will be validated and maintained in a Division of Plant Industry planting.

(g) The director is authorized to waive permit requirements for certain species of plants of the subfamilies Aurantioideae, Rutoideae, or Toddalioideae which the Citrus Budwood Technical Advisory Committee determines pose no threat of introducing into the state a citrus plant pest.

History.—s. 1, ch. 76-189; s. 3, ch. 87-32; s. 2, ch. 89-199; s. 2, ch. 97-220.