Citrus psyllid found near Arizona border
Sep 16, 2009 12:00 PM
Arizona Department of Agriculture (ADA) inspectors will expand an ongoing statewide survey for the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) in response to an ACP detection 1.5 miles south of San Luis, Ariz., in San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mexico.
Uniformed inspection crews will work throughout Yuma County over the coming months surveying residential and commercial groves for ACP. ADA has been conducting the survey in the county for several years with no detections.
Survey crews will visit county residents about the pest and ask permission to survey properties throughout the high-risk areas of the county.
Sticky traps will be placed to further help detect this serious pest.
The pest is of grave concern since it carries Huanglongbing disease (HLB), commonly known as citrus greening. All citrus and closely related species are susceptible hosts for the insect and the disease.
There is no cure once a tree becomes infected. The diseased tree will decline in health until it dies. ACP and HLB have not been detected in Arizona.
Florida first detected the pest in 1998 and the disease in 2005, and the two have now been detected in all 30 citrus-producing counties.
The pest and the disease are also present in Louisiana, Georgia and South Carolina. California, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama have the pest, but not the disease.
For questions about the survey, call the ADA at (602) 542-0950.
Additional information about the Asian citrus psyllid and citrus greening can be viewed at: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/citrus_greening/index.shtml.
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