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Effective immediately, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced it was expanding the HLB quarantined area in California. The action was made on Sept. 1 in cooperation with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).
APHIS is adding 1 square mile to the Santa Paula quarantined area in Ventura County, which impacts 151.7 acres of commercial citrus. APHIS is adding 10 square miles to the quarantined area in Riverside and San Diego counties, which impacts 121.5 acres of commercial citrus.
This measure parallels the intrastate quarantine that CDFA established on July 15. APHIS is taking this action because plant tissue samples from residential properties tested positive for Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, the causal agent of HLB.
APHIS is applying safeguarding measures that govern interstate movement of regulated articles from the quarantined areas. This action helps prevent HLB from spreading to areas that are not currently infested.
For updated quarantine maps and details, visit the APHIS Citrus Greening and Asian Citrus Psyllid webpage. APHIS will also publish a notice of this change in the Federal Register.
Additional information is available from APHIS agriculturist Abby Stilwell at 919-323-6296.
Read more on recent HLB quarantines here.
Source: USDA APHIS
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