A quarantine expansion has been declared following the detection of the citrus disease huanglongbing (HLB, also known as citrus greening) in five residential citrus trees located in Rancho Cucamonga, California. This is the first time the disease has been confirmed in Rancho Cucamonga, marking the fifth city in San Bernardino County to have had a positive detection of HLB.
California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) staff have scheduled removal of the infected trees and are in the midst of a treatment program for citrus trees within 250 meters of the find site. By taking this action, a critical reservoir of the disease and its vectors will be removed, which is essential to protect other citrus trees from this deadly disease. CDFA, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, local county agricultural commissioners and the citrus industry, continue to pursue a strategy of controlling the spread of the Asian citrus psyllids while researchers work to find a cure for HLB.
The expanded quarantine area will merge with the existing quarantines in San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties. The expanded portion is bordered on the north by Big Tree Cucamonga; on the west by Padua Avenue in Claremont and Mount Baldy Road; on the east by Interstate 15; and on the south by Foothill Boulevard and Interstate 10 in San Bernardino County.
The updated HLB quarantine maps for San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties are available online. Check this link for future quarantine expansions in these counties, should they occur.
The quarantine prohibits the movement of all plant parts or citrus nursery stock out of the quarantine area. Provisions exist to allow the movement of commercially cleaned and packed citrus fruit. If you are a grower within the new quarantine expansion area, contact CDFA’s emergency quarantine response program at 916-654-0312 for information on these provisions.
Fruit that is not commercially cleaned and packed, including residential citrus, such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits and kumquats, must not be moved from the property on which it is grown, although it may be processed (removal of stems and leaves, and a thorough washing) and/or consumed on the premises.
Source: Citrus Pest & Disease Prevention Program