As previously reported in Citrus Insider, a single Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) adult was found in a yellow sticky trap in an orchard in southern San Luis Obispo County in late May. The orchard where the trap was located is the only citrus – commercial or residential – within the designated 800m treatment area, and that orchard was treated almost immediately after being notified. The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is conducting high-density delimitation trapping in the area, and no additional ACP have been detected. The County Agricultural Commissioner’s office is establishing a new five-mile quarantine around the find site, affecting two additional growers, both of which have already been notified.
Two additional ACP adults were found in a yellow sticky trap in a residential area of San Luis Obispo, just west of a previous detection site in the city. The treatment area is completely residential so no growers will be affected. The existing quarantine in San Luis Obispo will be slightly expanded as a result. Details are pending from CDFA and the Agricultural Commissioner’s office.
Some of you have asked about huanglongbing (HLB) testing on the ACP found on yellow sticky traps. In most cases, by the time they are collected, the insects on sticky traps are too degraded to test for the disease. Occasionally we are lucky and a psyllid is collected within a day or so of landing on the trap, in which case HLB testing may be possible. Any live psyllids collected during surveys are tested for HLB. And so far, no psyllids or trees have tested positive for HLB since 2012 when a single residential tree in the Hacienda Heights area of Los Angeles tested positive and was removed.