Mystery seeds in plastic packets were sent to random homes all over the Southern U.S. States prompting warnings from the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [APHIS], for anyone receiving the packets to turn them into local agriculture authorities.. APHIS has not yet analyzed the mystery seeds but the last time unknown seeds were brought from Japan to the United States in 1876 at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia no one knew what to expect. By the time the Kudzu seeds were sold as shade cover at the 1883 New Orleans Exhibition they were widely distributed over the Southern states as an answer to the region’s hot summers, providing what horticulturists what they thought was live-saving shade plants. Several years later the kudzu plan grew at unprecedented rates, killing flora-and-fauna all over the South, native plants in the region,
No knew then how invasive the Kudzu plant would be to the Southern states until it grew like an aggressive weed. Today, Kudsu is listed on the Federal Toxic Weed List, having consumed over 3 million hectacres in the Southern United States. While no knows yet what plant genus of the mystery seeds, APHIS knows enough to warn citizens to not plant the seeds or flush them down the toilet. “USDA is aware that people across the country have received suspicious unsolicited packages of seeds that appears to be coming from China,” APHIS said in a warning statement. “Please don’t plant seeds from unknown origin,” APHIS tweeted. Kentucky Department of Agriculture warned several residents about the unsolicited seeds. “The types of seeds are unknown and could be harmful,” said Kentucky Agriculture Commissioners Ryan Quaries, asking residents to turn in the seed packages.
Knowing what happened with Kudzu, agricultural experts warned that something along those lines could happen again, maybe worse. “We don’t know what they are, and we cannot risk any harm whatsoever to agricultural production in the United States,” Quaries said. “We have the safest, most abundant food supply in the world and we need to keep it that way.” USDA officials are well aware of the deadly coronavirus AKA SARS CoV-2 or Covid-19 sweeping the nation, playing havoc with the U.S. economy. With 4,498,343 active cases and 152,320 deaths in the United States, the nation doesn’t need another Trojan Horse. While the seeds are not yet analyzed, if they’re anything like the Kudzu plant, U.S. agriculture doesn’t need a new menace to invade the United States. USDA officials don’t know whether the seeds contained in the packets are deadly or completely harmless.
No one, but only a few microbiologists that read Michael Crighton’s 1969 best-selling thriller “Andromeda Strain,” would have imagined the U.S. would be invaded by a deadly virus spreading like wildfire. “At this point in time, we don’t have enough information to know if this is a hoax, a prank, an Internet scam or an act of agricultural bio-terrorism,” Qauaries said. “Unsolicited seeds could be invasive or introduce unknown disease to live plants, harm livestock or threaten our environment. Residents in at least eight states have received the unknown seed packages, prompting authorities to issue a nationwide warning. APHIS said the USDA has been collected the seed packages through local or state agricultural departments, asking the public for vigilance and cooperation. USDA authorities said the seed packages could he a harmless “brushing scam,” from overly aggressive marketing professionals.
North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services received numerous reports of seed packages shipped to unsuspecting residents. “According to the Better Business Bureau, foreign, third-party sellers use your address and Amazon information to generate a fake sales and positive review to boost their product ratings,” said Phil Wilson, from North Carolina’s Plant Industry Division. Wilson said North Carolina residents “should store them safely in a place children and pens cannot access, then email USDA officials their contact information so APHIS officials can pick up the seed packs. “Please hold onto the sees and packaging, including the mailing label, until someone from your State department of agricultures or APHIS contacts you with further instructions. Do not plant seeds from unknown origins,” APHIS said in its statement to residents receiving seed-packs.
Given the novel coronvirus ravaging the country, USDA officials want to get ahead of the curve on the recent seed-packs sent from China. When 74-year-old President Donald Trump speaks of the “China virus,” he’s talking about a deadly virus originated in China but now playing havoc in the United States. Costs to the U.S. economy have been incalculable, running in the trillions of dollars. An new plant-based bio-terrorism weapon could spread another “toxic weed” far worse the Kudzu that’s taken over millions of hectacres in the South, all from what looked like an innocuous shade plant. “The types of seeds in the packages are unknown at this time and may be invasive plant species. “The packages were sent by mail and may have Chinese writing on them,” said the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. “Please do not plant these seeds.”
