Agriculture officials have expanded the areas quarantined for citrus greening (huanglongbing; HLB), caused by Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, in Texas. All of Zapata County has been added to the quarantined areas. The action was taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in cooperation with the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA).
The action was taken because of citrus greening detections in plant tissue samples collected from a residential property in Zapata County. There is no commercial citrus impacted by this expansion.
APHIS is applying safeguarding measures on the interstate movement of regulated articles from the quarantined areas in Texas. These measures parallel the intrastate quarantine that TDA established. This action is necessary to prevent the spread of citrus greening to noninfested areas of the United States.
The specific changes to the quarantined areas in Texas can be found on the APHIS Citrus Greening website. APHIS will publish a notice of this change in the federal register.
Additional information may be obtained from National Policy Manager Abby Stilwell by email at abby.r.stilwell@usda.gov or by phone at 919-323‑6296.
The HLB-spreading Asian citrus psyllids arrived in Texas around 2001, and HLB disease was confirmed in early 2012, seven years after it was first discovered in Florida. Learn more about the history of HLB in Texas here.
The Texas citrus industry is also dealing with citrus canker and the Mexican fruit fly (Mexfly). Learn the latest about canker quarantines in Texas and the state’s Mexfly quarantines.
Source: USDA APHIS
Share this Post
Sponsored Content