Asian Citrus Psyllid Quarantine Expanded Again In California

Posted by Christina Herrick|June 22, 2015

Following an Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) find in San Luis Obispo County in May the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) recently detected two ACP adults within the city of Bakersfield, CA.

CDFA now expands the ACP quarantine to two portions of Kern County in the Winchester area and the other in Panorama Drive area. The quarantine zone in the Westchester area measures 63-square miles, and in the Panorama Drive area it measures 65-square miles.

This quarantine prohibits the movement of citrus and curry tree nursery stock out of the quarantine area and requires that all citrus fruit be cleaned of leaves and stems prior to moving out of the quarantine area. An exception may be made for nursery stock and budwood grown in USDA-approved structures which are designed to keep ACP and other insects out.

ACP county-wide quarantines are now in place in Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Tulare, and Ventura counties, with portions of Fresno, Kern, Madera, San Benito, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Clara counties are also under quarantine.

The ACP is an invasive species of grave concern because it can carry the disease huanglongbing (HLB), also known as citrus greening. All citrus and closely related species, such as curry trees, are susceptible hosts for both the insect and disease. There is no cure once a tree becomes infected. The diseased tree will decline in health and produce bitter, misshaped fruit until it dies. HLB has been detected just once in California – in 2012 on a single residential property in Hacienda Heights, Los Angeles County.