New Citrus Greening Case Confirmed In Texas

Posted by Frank Giles|November 27, 2013

Recently, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed the presence of citrus greening, also referred to as HLB, in plant tissue samples collected from a grapefruit tree located on a residential property in Mission, TX. The sample was collected during citrus surveys conducted as part of the cooperative Citrus Health Response Program (CHRP). Samples have been collected from adjacent trees and have been submitted for analysis.

In response to this detection, APHIS, in cooperation with the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) and the Texas citrus industry, is conducting delimiting surveys in the Mission area. In addition, TDA enacted a 5-mile radius quarantine around the detection site to prevent the artificial spread of citrus greening. When delimiting surveys are completed, APHIS will establish an interstate quarantine. Since 2009, APHIS has regulated all of Texas for the Asian citrus psyllid, the insect that transmits citrus greening.

The disease was first confirmed in Texas in Jan. 2012.

Source: NAPPO (North American Plant Protection Organization)