The U.S. Department of Agriculture has expanded a citrus black spot quarantine in four Florida counties.
The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on July 29 alerted industry stakeholders to the expanded quarantine area following an annual survey conducted by APHIS and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. According to APHIS, it’s also the first citrus black spot detection on a residential property since the disease was first found in Florida in 2010.
The expansion includes:
- Eight sections in Charlotte County;
- Five sections in Collier County;
- Twenty-eight sections in Hendry County; and
- Nine sections in Lee County.
Commercial fruit in quarantined areas can not be moved outside the quarantined are unless the fruit is enclosed in a covered vehicle, and must have proper documentation, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
For more information on Florida’s citrus black spot program, visit the state’s agriculture department website.
