Citrus Black Spot Rears Its Ugly Head Again In Southwest Florida
April 20, 2015 Citrus growers in Southwest Florida are on the spot as USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has added 12 sections in Collier County, 19 sections in Hendry County, and six sections in Lee County to the citrus black spot (CBS) regulated area.
Photo courtesy of UF/IFAS
According to the North American Plant Protection Organization Phytosanitary Alert System, this action responds to the confirmation of CBS during surveys conducted by APHIS and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry. These new sections are near areas that have previously been found positive for CBS.
Although no positive CBS detections were made in Lee County, portions of Lee County are included in the quarantine because the areas are located in the buffer zone around positives detected in the other counties.
The fungal disease’s first confirmed finding in the U.S. was in Collier County during late March 2010.
Groves where CBS is present are subject to stringent guidelines that increase production and harvesting costs, including requirements such as covering infected fruit with a tarp during transport outside of the infected grove. In addition, CBS renders fruit unfit for fresh market sale because of the symptomatic black lesions caused by the disease.
Click here to reference Federal Orders issued for CBS, the APHIS-approved packinghouse procedures for Guignardia citricarpa, and a list of CBS regulated areas.
Subscribe Today For
