California’s ACP/HLB San Joaquin Valley Task Force reports that an increased number of Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) trap finds have occurred in the southern part of Kern County. The task force made the announcement in an open message to all citrus growers in the San Joaquin Valley. It was published on the Citrus Insider website on Oct. 16.
Last month and this month, a total of 35 ACP were found in traps south of Bakersfield, and in Arvin, Lamont, Mettler and Maricopa. There were 15 residential and 20 commercial citrus sticky trap finds.
Huanglongbing (HLB) prevention efforts in California have been targeted at controlling ACP as it transmits the disease. The amount of detections in this last 30-day period is alarming to task force members.
According to the task force, most spray programs have already been executed and a coordinated spray is not recommended at this time. Kern County growers are encouraged to use a material effective against ACP if they have not done so in the last six weeks. All growers should consider using ACP-effective materials when treating other pests.
The task force wants to convey the seriousness of what is being seen and what it means to the industry. The suspicion is that these finds in commercial citrus groves are spilling over from residential properties.
It is up to the citrus industry to deal with this threat. The cooperation shown by growers during coordinated treatments reflects their commitment to keeping ACP suppressed. Nevertheless, task force members wished to highlight what should be done to help control ACP in the valley. Recommendations and a course of action can be found on the Citrus Insider website.
Source: Citrus Insider