A permit is required by any person who sells nursery stock.  If the nursery stock being offered for sale is bought and re-sold, a Nursery Stock Dealer Permit is required by the Horticulture Commission.  If the nursery stock being offered for sale is propagated and grown by the applicant, then a Nursery Certificate Permit is required.

The boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis Boheman) is a cotton insect indigenous to Mexico that entered the United States into Texas in 1892.  By the early 1920's this insect had migrated through the cotton belt to Virginia, destroying the cotton crop.  Since its arrival in the U.S. this insect has cost the cotton industry nearly $22 billion in damage and insecticide application costs.

Louisiana parishes are designated as either "green tag" (SPW-free) or "pink tag" (SPW-infested). Potatoes grown, stored or packed in infested parishes cannot be moved to SPW-free areas.

Click here to see a list of Nursery Stock Dealers.

Nursery stock is inspected at the grower level to insure that the stock being offered for sale is free from injurious insects and diseases.  Inspections are also performed for crop and plant pests that are not known to exist in Louisiana as part of an early detection program.  All nurseries that ship material out of state are required to undergo annual inspections.