Brownsville Mexfly Quarantine Removed in Texas

Josh McGill Pests, Regulation, Texas

Federal and state agriculture officials on Nov. 14 removed the Mexican fruit fly (Mexfly) quarantine in Brownsville, Cameron County, Texas. The quarantine was removed after three generations elapsed with no additional detections in the area. The action was taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA). …

Managing Pest and Predatory Mites in CUPS

Josh McGill CUPS, Pests, Tip of the Week

By Emilie Demard Mites are pests of economic importance in traditional groves and citrus under protective screen (CUPS). Results from a two-year survey in CUPS at the Indian River Research and Education Center (IRREC) in Fort Pierce, Florida, showed that the citrus rust mite and the citrus red mite populations can reach high levels resulting in leaf and fruit damage. …

Hargill Mexfly Quarantine Removed in Texas

Josh McGill Pests, Regulation, Texas

Federal and state agriculture officials on Sept. 21 removed the Mexican fruit fly (Mexfly) quarantine in Hargill, Willacy County, Texas, after three generations elapsed with no additional detections in this area. The action was taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA). This action releases the final …

Groundcovers Promote Water-Use Efficiency and Pest Management

Josh McGill Irrigation, Pests

By Sandra M. Guzmán, Larry Duncan, John Santiago and Lorenzo Rossi The implementation of pest management technologies might have an impact on other management areas in the grove. Landscape fabric groundcovers, for example, have been used for pest management in citrus production. Groundcovers also recently have been used to promote the homogeneous availability of water for uptake by roots, better …

Mexfly Actions Eased in Texas

Josh McGill Pests, Regulation

One Mexican fruit fly (Mexfly) quarantine in Texas was recently removed, and portions of another Mexfly quarantine were released. Federal and state officials on Oct. 13 removed the Mexfly quarantine in Harlingen, Cameron County, after three generations elapsed with no additional detections in the area. This action releases the final 108.17 square miles of the Harlingen quarantine, which contained 699.3 …

Fungi Controlling Whiteflies in North Florida

Josh McGill Biologicals, Pests

Entomopathogenic fungi have recently been seen attacking citrus whitefly and cloudywinged whitefly nymphs in North Florida citrus groves. Muhammad Shahid, Mujahid Hussain and Danielle Sprague, all with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), wrote about the “friendly” fungi in the October UF/IFAS Cold Hardy Citrus Connection newsletter. Shahid is a horticulturalist and Hussain is a …

Oriental Fruit Fly Quarantine Removed in California

Josh McGill California Corner, Pests, Regulation

Federal and state agriculture officials removed the Oriental fruit fly (OFF) quarantine in the North Hills area of Los Angeles County, California. The action was taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). On July 1, APHIS and CDFA established an OFF quarantine in …

Evolution of Sting Nematode Integrated Pest Management

Josh McGill Pests, Research

By Homan Regmi, Larry Duncan and Johan Desaeger Two field trials were initiated in a Polk County, Florida, commercial grove of 15-month-old Valencia on Kuharske trees in 2019 to measure the effectiveness of integrated pest management (IPM) tactics for managing sting nematodes (Belonolaimus longicaudatus). Six chemical nematicides, many newly released, were compared in one trial. In the second, perennial peanut …

Controlling Pest Pressure Post-Hurricane

Josh McGill hurricane, Pests

University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) multi-county citrus Extension agent Ajia Paolillo summarized suggestions for controlling pest pressure after Hurricane Ian in a recent Extension newsletter. Along with horticultural practices and disease control, growers should be monitoring for pests in their groves post-hurricane. UF/IFAS entomologist Lauren Diepenbrock provided some suggested practices for keeping pest pressure as …

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Oriental Fruit Fly Eradicated in Florida County

Josh McGill Florida, Pests, Regulation

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) announced on Sept. 23 that the oriental fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis) has been eradicated from Pinellas County. In June, FDACS Division of Plant Industry positively identified oriental fruit flies detected during routine trapping. Additional flies were discovered during expanded trapping activities. A quarantine was established in the St. Petersburg area that …

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New Oriental Fruit Fly Quarantine Established in California

Josh McGill California Corner, Pests, Regulation

Federal and state agriculture authorities on Sept. 16 established an Oriental fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis) quarantine in the Fountain Valley area of Orange County, California. The action was taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). This action is in response to the confirmed detections …

Mexfly Quarantine Removed in Texas

Josh McGill Pests, Regulation, Texas

Federal and state authorities on Aug. 10 removed the Mexican fruit fly (Mexfly) quarantine area in Weslaco, Hidalgo County, Texas. This area was a portion of the Harlingen-Lyford-Weslaco quarantine. The action was taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA). On April 8, APHIS and TDA established …

Preventing Further Hurricane Damage in Groves

Josh McGill Diseases, hurricane, Pests

University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) faculty recommend actions citrus growers can take to prevent further damage to root systems and future fruit drop following Hurricane Ian. DEAL WITH PHYTOPHTHORAIf standing water has occurred in groves with phytophthora problems, growers should evaluate for root damage and treat accordingly. Floodwaters resulting from heavy rains can severely impact …

Pest Incidence and Management in CUPS

Josh McGill CUPS, Pests, Research

By Jawwad A. Qureshi and Salman Al-Shami The citrus under protective screen (CUPS, Figure 1) system is designed so citrus can grow inside screened enclosures to protect it from huanglongbing (HLB) and the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP, Diaphorina citri). ACP is the primary vector of the pathogen responsible for causing HLB, known as citrus greening disease. This vector-pathogen combination is …

Entomologist at Helm of Invasion Science Research Initiative

Josh McGill Industry News Release, Pests

The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) has appointed internationally acclaimed entomologist and ecologist Matthew Thomas as director of the new Invasion Science Research Initiative (ISRI). Thomas will establish the framework for ISRI, which will bring together more than 120 UF/IFAS scientists from more than 20 departments currently dedicated to the detection, diversion, tracking and control …

Varroa Mite Management Guide to Protect Honey Bee Health

Josh McGill Environment, Pests

By Sabrina Halvorson The Honey Bee Health Coalition unveiled the 8th edition of the Tools for Varroa Management Guide. The guide provides information on the latest tools and options for beekeepers and others in the United States and Canada to keep bees healthy and manage varroa mites, which spread disease within and among honey bee colonies. An expert team of beekeepers, …

Texas Mexfly Quarantine Area Reduced

Josh McGill Pests, Regulation, Texas

Federal and state agriculture officials on Aug. 18 released portions of the Brownsville, Cameron County, Texas Mexican fruit fly (Mexfly) quarantine area. The action was taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) after three Mexfly life-cycles elapsed with no additional detections in these areas. As a …

Fire Ant Control Aids Psyllid Management

Josh McGill Citrus Expo, HLB Management, Pests

Controlling fire ants in groves aids in the control of HLB-spreading Asian citrus psyllids (ACP), entomologist Lukasz Stelinski reported at the Citrus & Specialty Crop Expo. Fire ant control was just one way that Stelinski suggested for growers to manage ACP while reducing costs. The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences entomologist said ACP populations drop when …

New Mexfly Quarantine for California

Josh McGill California Corner, Pests, Regulation

A portion of San Diego County in California has been placed under a quarantine for the Mexican fruit fly (Mexfly). The quarantine follows the detection of six flies and one larva in and around the unincorporated area of Valley Center. The quarantine will affect any growers, wholesalers, nurseries and retailers of host fruit or host plants in the area. The …

Solid Crop Needs to Survive Rust Mites

Josh McGill Pests

Citrus growers in North Florida and South Georgia are expected to start harvesting in early November. While the crop still looks promising, producers need to keep an eye on rust mites, says grower Kim Jones. “Rust mites can still be a real danger at this point. With fresh fruit, we’ve got to have a pretty piece of fruit. That rust …