The U.S. Department of Agriculture is expanding the quarantine region in California for citrus disease Huanglongbing (HLB), also known as citrus greening.
The USDA said in a notice Dec. 23 that the agency, in cooperation with the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the California citrus industry is adding portions of Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties in California.
According to a news release from the California Department of Food and Agriculture, the detection of the citrus disease was reported in multiple residential citrus trees within the City of Corona, Riverside County.
The CDFA said the 107-square mile quarantine area will link up with the east side of the existing quarantine in Los Angeles, Riverside, Orange, and San Bernardino counties, creating a contiguous 1,127-square-mile area. The new portion is bordered on the north by Chino Airport, on the south by Black Star Canyon, and on the east by Interstate 15, according to the CDFA.
The agency said HLB quarantine maps are available online. Quarantines are already in place for HLB in portions of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties, according to CDFA.
Limits
The quarantine, according to the CDFA, prohibits the movement of all citrus nursery stock or plant parts out of the quarantine area, but do allow for movement of commercially cleaned and packed citrus fruit.
CDFA staff, according to the release, have scheduled removal of the infected trees and are in the midst of a treatment program for citrus trees to eliminate Asian citrus psyllid infestations within 400 meters of the find site.
Those actions are needed to protect the surrounding citrus from the disease, according to the release.
Related articles
