PORTLAND — After a scare for the $778 million Oregon nursery industry, a statewide inspection is nearly complete for sudden oak death fungus.

The fungus kills certain oak trees and also affects a number of ornamental plants that are staples of one of the top agricultural industries in Oregon and an estimated $13 billion industry nationally.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday it has completed the inspection, sampling, and certification of nearly all 1,970 nurseries around the state and found only nine with infected plants.

The handful of affected nurseries indicates that sudden oak death is rare in Oregon nursery stock, said Katy Coba, the state's agriculture director.

"We feel good about the current situation,'' Coba said. "We can honestly say that Oregon nurseries are generally free of the disease.''

In the rare cases where the fungus has been detected, state inspectors have been able to isolate it and destroy the affected plants, she said.

The nine affected nurseries are scattered across the state, from the Willamette Valley to the Oregon coast to Central Oregon, officials said.