NORTH COUNTY -- In an effort to break the logjam that has prevented some out-of-state sales of nursery products since a tree-killing fungus was discovered last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been meeting with state agricultural officials from throughout the nation.

The meetings in Washington, D.C., are expected to continue today, and North County nursery owners are awaiting a decision. A quick resolution is important, they say, because this is the industry's peak sales season.

In the meantime, North County nursery owners are still banned from selling some or all of their products to 15 states following last month's discovery of a tree-killing fungus at a nursery in Los Angeles County that shipped infected plants to a San Marcos nursery.

Steve Lyle, director of public affairs for the state Department of Agriculture in Sacramento, said the goal of the meetings is to "try and reach a place where there is a (uniform) regulation so that all California nurseries can ship anywhere in the country."

Lyle said Wednesday that 15 states are refusing some or all California nursery products in the wake of the discovery of the fungus Phytophthora ramorum that causes a disease known as sudden oak death. It was first discovered in the state in 1995 and has been blamed for the deaths of thousands of oak trees in Northern California and Oregon.

The fungus was discovered in March at Monrovia Nursery in Azusa in Los Angeles County. A few days later, the fungus was found in a container of plants shipped from that nursery to Specialty Plants in San Marcos.

Those finds prompted federal officials on March 29 to adopt a quarantine and inspection program similar to one that has been in place for nurseries in 12 Northern California counties for several years. The program allows nurseries that have been inspected and deemed free of the disease to receive a certification that allows them to ship products outside the state.

As of Wednesday, 91 San Diego County nurseries that ship their products out of state have been deemed free of the disease, according to San Diego County's deputy agricultural commissioner, Cathy Neville.

Lyle said it is vital that the states refusing California nursery products accept and abide by the quarantine and certification program the federal government has put in place. The state's nursery industry rakes in more than $12 billion a year in combined wholesale and retail sales. San Diego County has about 9,000 acres devoted to nursery and flower crops with a combined value of $855 million in 2001.

"There are millions of dollars on the line and the ability of the industry to shop around the country has and continues to be hindered," Lyle said. "With Mother's Day right around the corner, another peak sales period is almost here."

Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana and West Virginia are refusing any California nursery products, even from nurseries that have been declared free of the disease.

Janet Kister, owner of Sunlet Nurseries in Fallbrook and the president of the San Diego County Farm Bureau, said Wednesday that her nursery has been certified to be free of the fungus that causes sudden oak death.

"I am really hopeful that things will change for the better in the next day or two," Kister said.

Eric Larson, the executive director of the San Diego County Farm Bureau, said he believes U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman should invoke her authority to force all states to accept California nursery imports from those cleared of having the disease.

"The federal Plant Protection Act clearly gives the secretary the power to do that and our growers are increasingly frustrated that she hasn't," Larson said. "Growers have already incurred losses and the sales windows that are being missed can never be made up."

Thirty California lawmakers on Wednesday released a letter sent to Veneman asking her to stop states from imposing "unreasonable" bans on state nursery products.

Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 731-5794 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.