Kentucky's Office of the State Entomologist History
In 1899, two years after the first meeting, S. A. Forbes sent another letter to officials in nearby states to talk more about nursery inspections. In the letter, he suggested a meeting to agree on common methods, inspection goals, certificate forms, and other important details. At this meeting, they wrote a memorandum that included policies still used today in plant certification.
Also in 1889, thanks to C. V. Riley from the USDA, the American Association of Economic Entomologists was formed. This group, which later became the Entomological Society of America, was created so experts could share knowledge about insects that affect crops. At first, only entomologists working for the U.S. and Canadian governments or experiment stations could join. Later, college and university teachers of economic entomology were allowed to join too.
Even with these efforts, states still had different laws and didn’t always accept each other’s certificates. This led Forbes to call another meeting in January 1901. At this meeting, the group decided to form a society for official horticultural inspectors. This became the American Association of Horticultural Inspectors, which held its first meeting in Washington, D.C., in November 1901. Twenty-three people attended, representing states from the East, Central, and South, along with the USDA. In 1913, this group joined the American Association of Economic Entomologists, and in 1916 it became the Horticultural Inspection section of that organization.
1881
California State Legislature
An awareness grew of the threat from introduced insect pests. California State Legislature enacted laws in 1881 to prevent the introduction of plant pests. During the next 15 years several other states followed suit with legislation, commonly referred to as nursery laws, primarily because of the seriousness of the San Jose scale which was spreading rapidly throughout the country.