A new Asian citrus psyllid was discovered near the Tulare County town of Exeter, and the ACP quarantines in Tulare and Kern Counties are expanded. Sabrina Hill has more.
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Another Asian Citrus Psyllid finding in Tulare County – this one near the town of Exeter. CDFA has already begun to survey the affected area in order to determine the extent of any infestation. Tulare County Agriculture Commissioner Marilyn Kinoshita says “This latest find is in the heart of our citrus belt, so it is very disappointing to hear that psyllids are being moved into a new part of our county.”
Meanwhile, an additional portion of Tulare County and a portion of Kern County are now under quarantine for the Asian citrus psyllid following the detections of psyllids in the Tulare County town of Dinuba and the Kern County town of Wasco.
In Tulare County, the quarantine zone measures 90 square miles and is in addition to an existing quarantine in the Porterville area.
In Kern County, the quarantine zone measures 88 square miles.
To see the full quarantine area, you can check the online map by clicking here.
It’s not yet determined how much area will go under quarantine with the Exeter find.
The quarantine prohibits the movement of host nursery stock out of the quarantine area and requires that all commercial citrus fruit be cleaned of leaves and stems prior to moving out of the area. Residents with backyard citrus trees in the quarantine area are asked not to remove fruit from the area.
In addition to Kern and Tulare Counties, ACP quarantines are now in place in Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Imperial, Orange, Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties.
The ACP is a major concern because it can carry huanglongbing disease. All citrus and closely related species are susceptible hosts for both the insect and the disease. There is no cure once a tree becomes infected. The diseased tree will decline in health until it dies.
HLB has shown up just once in California – last year on a single residential property in Hacienda Heights of Los Angeles County. HLB is known to be present in Mexico and in parts of the southern U.S. Florida first detected the pest in 1998 and the disease in 2005, and both the pest and disease are found in all 30 citrus-producing counties in that state. The University of Florida estimates the disease has tallied nearly 7,000 lost jobs, $1.3 billion in lost revenue to growers and $3.6 billion in lost economic activity. The disease is present in Texas, Louisiana, Georgia and South Carolina. The states of Hawaii, Arizona, Mississippi and Alabama have detected the pest but not the disease.