This action is necessary to prevent the spread of transmissible disease, such as Huanglongbing (HLB)

SACRAMENTO — The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), in cooperation with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), is expanding the areas quarantined for Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP) in California. APHIS is expanding the quarantine areas described in DA-2014-46 to include the entire Counties of Fresno, Kern, San Luis Obispo, and Tulare counties.  Due to the logistical challenges associated with an expanding 5-mile buffer from subsequent detections of ACP, CDFA established county-level quarantines for ACP in California. Parallel to CDFA’s quarantine, due to ACP detections, APHIS is also adding 18 new Counties in California: Alameda, Contra Costa, Kings, Madera, Marin, Merced, Monterey, Placer, Sacramento, San Benito, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, and Yolo Counties.

APHIS is applying safeguarding measures on the interstate movement of regulated articles from the quarantined areas in California. These measures parallel the intrastate quarantines that CDFA established. This action is necessary to prevent the spread of transmissible disease, such as Huanglongbing (HLB), by ACP to non‑infested areas of the United States.

The specific changes to the quarantine areas are attached and can also be found at the APHIS Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP) website. APHIS will publish a notice of these changes in the Federal Register.

For additional information you may contact:

Quarantined Areas for Citrus Greening and Asian Citrus Psyllid

–USDA APHIS

Original article link courtesy of Morning AgClips

Photo: View of adult Asian citrus psyllids on citrus leaves. Asian citrus psyllids can transmit the bacteria that causes Huanglongbing to uninfected trees. (Credit: H. Gomez, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Public domain)