(a) All articles, equipment, plant material, supplies and personnel that enter or remain in a propagation facility shall be subject to Department approved sanitation requirements, including but not limited to:
(1) Budding knives, clippers and other cutting implements shall be sterilized between different groups of propagations using a commercially available disinfectant or household bleach solution with a final strength of 0.5 percent. Sterilization solution shall be made fresh each day.
(2) All equipment should be kept on site.
(3) If gloves are worn in a certified citrus nursery, they must be disposable gloves or decontaminated daily and kept on-site.
(4) Any person (including, but not limited to, their exposed skin and clothing, headgear, and tops and bottoms of shoes), tools or equipment entering a certified citrus greenhouse must be sanitized immediately prior to or during entry, as provided in §21.61 of this chapter (relating to Facility Structural Requirements).
(5) All growing or potting media or containers must be stored to prevent contamination by soil or water.
(6) Non-certified nursery stock shall not be grown in or introduced into the same greenhouse or structure with certified citrus nursery stock.
(7) It shall be the responsibility of the nursery to:
(8) Nursery areas and perimeters shall be maintained weed-free.
(b) Violation(s) of sanitation requirements may result in the issuance of a stop-sale order, suspension or revocation of a certificate of registration, and/or administrative penalties.
Source Note: The provisions of this §21.63 adopted to be effective March 22, 2018, 43 TexReg 1629