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A man from Booneville, Ark., planted unsolicited mystery seeds he received from China weeks before government officials issued their warnings not to, and now that plant has been “prepped for incineration,” a spokesperson from the Arkansas Department of Agriculture told Fox News.
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“Department staff performed an unofficial identification of the plants and determined that it was Benincasa hispida – common name: Wax Gourd, Winter Melon, Chinese Watermelon. Out of an abundance of caution the plant material was incinerated,” wrote Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s Public Information Manager Anna Thrash in an email. “After further discussion with our USDA partners we will be transferring plant material collected in the future to them for official identification.”
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“Department staff performed an unofficial identification of the plants and determined that it was Benincasa hispida – common name: Wax Gourd, Winter Melon, Chinese Watermelon. Out of an abundance of caution the plant material was incinerated,” wrote Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s Public Information Manager Anna Thrash in an email. “After further discussion with our USDA partners we will be transferring plant material collected in the future to them for official identification.”
It did grow like crazy.
Efficient CRISPR/Cas9-based gene knockout in watermelon
A WSJ reporter got some seeds, too.
I Received Packets of Mystery Seeds Postmarked From China
Our reporter wanted to expand her garden during Covid. She ended up part of a global whodunit.
By Rebecca Smith | Photographs by Christie Hemm Klok for The Wall Street Journal
Aug. 14, 2020 1:17 pm ET
Our reporter wanted to expand her garden during Covid. She ended up part of a global whodunit.
By Rebecca Smith | Photographs by Christie Hemm Klok for The Wall Street Journal
Aug. 14, 2020 1:17 pm ET
The Canfield couple checked the label. It looks like someone had ordered masks. The couple already had plenty and the package made them curious.
“It pretty quickly moved to concern as soon as we realized it was from China and escalated once we saw Wuhan,” Beary said.
“It pretty quickly moved to concern as soon as we realized it was from China and escalated once we saw Wuhan,” Beary said.
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