New Citrus Black Spot Finds Confirmed In Southwest Florida

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) has notified growers of new citrus black spot (CBS) finds only miles from previously confirmed infected trees. The first new location is in Hendry County in Township 46S, Range 32E, section 27. One Hamlin tree with 10 infected fruit was detected 1.5 miles east of a previously positive tree and 1.9 miles west of a previously positive tree. According FDACS, the detection will result in an expansion of the existing quarantine by one square mile. No citrus groves reside in the square mile, so no additional grove owners will be impacted by the new find.

In addition, one Hamlin tree with one infected fruit was detected for CBS in Collier County in Township 46S, Range 29E, Section 27. This detection will result in the formation of a new nine square mile quarantine. This find is located 7.3 miles south, 4.8 miles east, and 4.7 miles north of previously positive citrus blocks. Two citrus entities are within the new quarantine area.

The positive trees and resulting quarantines are located within the current 10-mile survey buffer. Delimiting CBS surveys are ongoing in the vicinity of the two new detections.