REGULATORY SERVICES

The Office of Plant Industry Services (OPIS) protects Virginia’s agricultural and horticultural economic interests by overseeing and ensuring compliance with a variety of laws.

OPIS is involved in many diverse activities, such as fire ant control and prevention; detection of disease and insect pests of nursery stock; cooperative agricultural pest surveys for early detection and treatment of new invasive plant pests and diseases, including those of bio-terrorism concern; apiary inspection; cotton boll weevil monitoring; protection of endangered species; ginseng management; nursery registration and pest-free certification; gypsy moth slow-the-spread and suppression projects; and issuance of export certifications. OPIS also performs sampling and testing of seed, fertilizer, and liming agents; and sampling of animal feeds.
Additionally, OPIS specialists provide educational programs for public outreach and work cooperatively with officials from other state, federal, and local agencies, including the Virginia Department of Forestry, Virginia Cooperative Extension, and many others.

Beach Vitex
Cotton Boll Weevil
Emerald Ash Borer
Gypsy Moth
Imported Fire Ant
Pine Shoot Beetle
Thousand Canker Disease