The quarantine station calls to prevent the cultivation of a mysterious "seed" that cannot be remembered

The quarantine station calls for not to cultivate a mysterious "seed" that cannot be remembered August 1: 6:54

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It was discovered last month that a man's home in Miura City, Kanagawa Prefecture, had received a parcel containing things like plant seeds believed to have been sent from China. Consultations such as “I received a plant seed that I did not remember ordering” are said to be coming one after another at the Yokohama Plant Protection Station, and the Plant Protection Station has called for not to grow it.

On the 28th of last month, a silver bag arrived at the home of a man in his 60s living in Miura city, and a dozen pieces of brown-colored round plant seeds with a size of 2 mm were put inside. , It means that there was one small transparent bag.

From the notation on the label, it seems that it arrived from China, and the name and address of the man were recorded as the destination, so the man reported to Miura City the next day.

On the other hand, according to the Yokohama Plant Quarantine Station, after the end of last month, consultations such as "I received a plant seed that I didn't remember ordering" have been coming from all over Japan.

It seems that they all came from overseas, and there is no pass stamp stamped on the package if they pass the quarantine.

According to the plant quarantine station, there are cases where suspicious plant seeds are sent in the United States, so the plant quarantine station calls for consultation without planting it unnecessarily.

"Illegal drug may be raised" "Hazardous virus adheres"

Regarding the risk of plant species that have not passed the quarantine, Shuichi Horikoshi, director of the Miura City Environment Division said, ``If you plant it easily, you will unintentionally grow illegal drugs or if it is an alien species, it will be ancient in Japan. There is a risk of disturbing the ecosystem of.”

A person in charge at the Yokohama Plant Quarantine Office also pointed out that "harmful viruses and insects may be attached to the seeds, and planting may cause Japanese crops such as rice to die and affect farmers." I am.

Sending seeds overseas

According to several media in the United States, since June this year in the United States there is a case where unfamiliar mail with the product name such as “ring” or “toy” is sent to a private house in western Washington state etc. It has been confirmed in over 20 states, of which more than 1000 have been filed in Southern Virginia.

The contents are plant seeds, which the US Department of Agriculture has found to be at least 14 species, including morning glory and cabbage.

So far, no harmful substances have been confirmed.

Many of the labels are printed with letters such as addresses in China and "China Post", and the Ministry of Agriculture and the state government think that they were mainly shipped from China, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China said, "The label is counterfeit However, there are many mistakes in the layout of the display.”

Similar cases have been identified in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia, and countries and local governments have warned authorities not to open them or plant seeds without warning.