The citrus black spot (CBS) quarantine in Florida was recently expanded in five Southwest Florida counties by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). APHIS added 37 sections in Charlotte County, 17 sections in Collier County, 45 sections in Glades County, 68 sections in Hendry County and 28 sections in Lee County to the quarantine area.
APHIS took the action because of confirmed detections of P. citricarpa (formerly known as Guignardia citricarpa), the causal agent of CBS, during annual surveys conducted during the 2019 and 2020 growing seasons. The surveys were conducted by APHIS and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Division of Plant Industry (DPI).
APHIS is applying safeguarding measures and restrictions on the interstate movement, or entry into foreign trade, of regulated articles from these areas. Federal Order DA-2012-09 outlines these measures and restrictions and parallels DPI’s state-interior quarantine and intrastate movement requirements.
Fresh citrus fruit moved interstate from the CBS quarantine areas must be processed using APHIS-approved methods and packed in commercial citrus packinghouses operating under a compliance agreement with APHIS. APHIS prohibits the movement of any other citrus plant parts outside the quarantine area.
An APHIS website contains a description of all the current CBS quarantine areas, federal orders and APHIS-approved packinghouse procedures.
Additional information regarding the CBS program can be obtained from Shailaja Rabindran, APHIS director of specialty crops and cotton pests, at (301) 851-2167.
In 2010, citrus black spot was first identified in Collier and Hendry counties in Florida. Symptoms of CBS are most evident on mature fruit, with little to no symptoms on leaves. Learn more about CBS, including its history in Florida, identification and treatment, from University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researcher Megan Dewdney.
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture
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