Seeds can transport invasive plant species

My traveling friend brought home seeds in her luggage (that she painstakingly chose for her nephew), but they were confiscated at customs. Why? Was it because invasive plant seeds could have mixed in accidentally?

Seeds can carry diseases and insect pests, just like other plant parts. In fact, a new tomato pest that’s smaller than a seed, the tomato leafminer, has infested its way across Europe, is heading for Asia, and is now coming the United States via South America. Travelers must beware and resist the temptation to bring home any attractive fruit, vegetable or plant because it is impossible to tell what disaster it could carry. A lot of my transplants of different vegetables collapsed this spring. This has never happened before. Any ideas?

Seed corn, onion and cabbage maggots thrived in the cool, wet spring this year. Seed corn maggot, name notwithstanding, infests a wide range of crops. The maggots are fly larvae, feeding on seeds, roots, sprouted seeds and transplants. There are several generations, but the first one does the most damage. Simply replant. One consolation: If you notice dead flies stuck to the top of vegetation, these are seed corn maggot flies infected by a fungus. Look closely and you’ll see the white fuzz of the fungus exploding out of their bodies. Leave them as a future source of biocontrol,. To learn about stronger seed corn maggot control, use the search box on the Home and Garden Information Center website.

University of Maryland Extension’s Home and Garden Information Center offers free gardening and pest information at extension.umd.edu/hgic. Click “Ask Maryland’s Gardening Experts” to send questions and photos.