The following information was issued in a press release from the Arizona Department of Agriculture and has been posted here as a service of your County Government. If you have any other questions or concerns about the Asian Citrus Psyllid and how it might affect you please contact Laura Oxley at (602) 542-1094. Questions about the quarantine can be directed to the Arizona Department of Agriculture at 602-542-0955.
The Arizona Department of Agriculture established a quarantine in Yuma County today after finding three Asian Citrus Psyllids (ACP). The quarantine affects where growers and packers can ship citrus grown in the area. The Department, working with USDA-APHIS, was able to secure an exemption for shipments to some significant export markets, but is still in negotiations with others.
The quarantine is centered in Somerton, where the third pest was discovered. It covers the area in a 20-mile radius arc and includes almost all the citrus production area of Yuma County. There are some groves to the east of the quarantine which will still be able to export citrus without restriction if packed outside the quarantine area. (See attached map.) As part of the quarantine, all Yuma residents are encouraged NOT to transport their backyard fruit outside the quarantine area.
The Department will be initiating treatments, with the cooperation of property owners, around the finds detected to date in the near future to further guard against the spread of ACP.
The ACP can carry Huanglongbing (HLB) disease which is more commonly known as citrus greening. There is no cure for a citrus tree once it becomes infected. The diseased tree will decline in health until it dies. All citrus and closely related species are susceptible hosts for both the insect and the disease. So far, HLB has not been detected in Arizona.
Arizona was the last citrus-producing state to discover the ACP. ADA has been conducting this type of survey for the ACP in the county for several years with no detections.
The state of 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 in that state. The pest and the disease are also present in Louisiana, Georgia and South Carolina. The states of California, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama have detected the pest but not the disease.
Questions about the quarantine can be directed to the Arizona Department of Agriculture at 602-542-0955. Additional information about the Asian Citrus Psyllid and Citrus Greening can be viewed at the following link: www.saveourcitrus.org