APHIS expands quarantine area for citrus greening in California

USA – The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), alongside the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), has announced an immediate expansion of the quarantine area for citrus greening, also known as Huanglongbing (HLB), in California.

This action is taken to curb the spread of the disease, which is caused by the bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus.

The new quarantine measures will increase the restricted area in Los Angeles County by four square miles. This decision follows the detection of citrus greening in plant tissue samples collected from a residential property in the region.

As of now, there is no commercial citrus affected within this newly expanded zone. The quarantine expansion is crucial for preventing the further spread of HLB to unaffected areas across the United States.

Additionally, APHIS will implement safeguards on the interstate movement of regulated articles from the quarantined zones. These measures are consistent with the intrastate quarantine already in place, which was established by CDFA on June 26, 2024.

Detailed changes to the quarantined areas will be available on the APHIS Citrus Greening website, and an official notice will be published in the Federal Register.

Support from citrus industry

In related news, the citrus industry has received positive developments from Washington, D.C. The California Citrus Mutual (CCM) has expressed strong support for the Farm Bill proposal, which prioritizes funding for the fight against Huanglongbing.

Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow of the Senate Agriculture Committee and Chairman Glenn Thompson from the House Agriculture Committee have both included continued support for the Emergency Citrus Disease Research and Extension Program in their frameworks for the 2024 Farm Bill.

CCM President/CEO Casey Creamer highlighted, “This is a significant step towards reaching a bipartisan Farm Bill compromise that will continue critical research to find a cure for Huanglongbing.”

The proposal secures USD 25 million annually for the life of the Farm Bill, which will be allocated to the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) for research purposes. This funding will be overseen by grower representatives from California, Texas, and Florida.

The new funding allocation marks a crucial win for the citrus industry, especially amid the ongoing fiscal debates in Washington, D.C. Despite challenges, the strong advocacy from California, Texas, and Florida Citrus Mutuals, along with support from allied industry organizations, has proven effective in maintaining necessary research funding.

For more updates on the quarantine measures and funding developments, stakeholders are encouraged to visit the APHIS Citrus Greening website and stay tuned for further announcements.

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