A quarantine for Elsinoë australis, the fungal causal agent of sweet orange scab (SOS), was established in all of Baldwin and Mobile counties in Alabama to prevent the spread of the disease. The quarantine was established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in cooperation with the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries (ADAI).
In Baldwin County, the scab quarantine area encompasses seven nurseries and 60 acres of citrus. In Mobile County, the quarantine area includes seven nurseries and 50 acres of citrus.
APHIS is applying safeguarding measures on the interstate movement of regulated articles from these quarantine areas to prevent further spread of the pathogen to non-infested areas of the United States. These safeguarding measures parallel the intrastate quarantine established by ADAI in June 2020.
Elsinoë australis was first detected in the United States in July 2010. With these recent detections, SOS is known to occur in Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and portions of California and Alabama.
Additional information regarding the SOS program may be obtained from Director of Specialty Crops and Cotton Pests Shailaja Rabindran at 301-851-2167.
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
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