A new finding of huanglongbing (HLB) has been reported in a residential citrus tree in the city of San Bernardino, California. This is the first confirmed find of the citrus disease in the city and follows the recent detections of several HLB-positive trees located in Colton, Montclair and Ontario.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is working with the San Bernardino County Department of Agriculture to prevent the spread of HLB into neighboring areas.
The expanded 52-square-mile quarantine area expansion will place more than 1,327 square miles of Southern California into the HLB quarantine area. The newly expanded portion in San Bernardino County is bordered on the north by Palm Avenue and Kendall Drive; on the east by Sterling Avenue; on the south by Santa Ana Avenue; and on the west by Palmetto Avenue.
HLB quarantine maps for San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties are available online at: cdfa.ca.gov/plant/hlb/regulation. Check this link for future quarantine expansions in these counties, should they occur. Quarantines are already in place for HLB in portions of Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties.
The citrus quarantine prohibits the movement of all citrus nursery stock or plant material out of the affected area. Provisions exist to allow the movement of commercially cleaned and packed citrus fruit. Growers within the new expansion area should contact CDFA’s Citrus Division at 916-654-0317 for information on these provisions.
Fruit that is not properly cleaned and/or packed, including fruit grown from commercial operations and residential citrus trees, must not be moved from the property on which it is grown. However, it may be processed and/or consumed on the premises.