Federal and state agriculture officials have expanded the areas quarantined for huanglongbing (HLB; also known as citrus greening) in California. The action was taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in cooperation with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).
APHIS is adding portions of Los Angeles, San Diego and Ventura counties to the quarantined areas. APHIS is taking this action because of HLB detections in plant tissue samples collected from multiple locations during routine surveys.
SAN DIEGO COUNTY
As a result of these detections, APHIS is establishing a new quarantine area of 86 square miles in the Valley Center area of San Diego County. It includes 1,756 acres of commercial citrus. There are no changes to the Oceanside and San Diego quarantine areas in San Diego County.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY
APHIS is also quarantining portions of the Azusa and San Gabriel areas in Los Angeles County. This addition expands the quarantine area in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties by 23 square miles to 1,885 square miles. It includes 2,222 acres of commercial citrus.
VENTURA COUNTY
Additionally, APHIS is expanding the Santa Paula area quarantine in Ventura County by 2 square miles to 102 square miles. It includes 8,707 acres of commercial citrus.
APHIS is applying safeguarding measures on the interstate movement of regulated articles from the quarantined areas in California. These measures parallel changes in the intrastate quarantine established by CDFA between October 2023 and January 2024. This action is necessary to prevent the spread of HLB to non-infested areas of the United States.
Read about recent changes to California’s HLB quarantine requirements here.
Learn more about the disease on the APHIS Citrus Greening website. Additional information is available from National Policy Manager Abby R. Stilwell at Abby.R.Stilwell@usda.gov or 919-323-6296.
Source: USDA APHIS
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