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Green Oranges
The citrus apocalypse is coming. Last week David Karp in the New York Times described the fearsome situation facing Florida orange and grapefruit groves (registration required), which are threatened by a tiny insect called the Asian citrus psyllid: Once it infects trees, the fruits turn green and bitter (which is why the disease is called greening). And then the trees die. The insects were first spotted near Miami in 2005, but they are projected to infect all of Florida’s citrus trees within 7 to 12 years. A citrus grower quoted by Karp looks out at his dead trees and says, “Scientists have 10 years at the most to find a solution, or there’s not going to be a citrus industry in Florida.”
So that’s scary enough. But as if on cue, the story got worse: The Los Angeles Times a few days later reported that the citrus psyllid had hit California. Scientists had preliminarily identified the insect in a lemon tree in San Diego—it had been found in orange trees in Tijuana the month before—and were establishing a quarantine around the site. If it spreads, both states may be forced to insert genes for bacterial resistance into all of their citrus varieties. That’ll be controversial, but as a scientist told the New York Times, “it’ll probably come down to the point where people have to decide whether they want orange juice or not.”
Posted by | Tuesday, September 2, 2008 at 4:41pm | 4 comments
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The Asian citrus psyllid has also spread to parts of Texas and Louisiana. California citrus (including avocado), other fruits and cotton are also being threatened by the False Codling Moth, which lays eggs on the fruit or boll, and when the larva hatches it burrows into the fruit, damaging the fruit/boll and creating a pathway for secondary infections.
This is why I get annoyed when people brag on chowhound about the fruit they smuggled in from somewhere or make fun of agricultural inspection stations. Agricultural quarantines exist for a reason.
http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/acp/
http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/PDEP/tar...
Update: a portion of San Diego County has been declared a quarantine zone for the Asian citrus psyllid. A state-declared quarantine restricts the movement of possible hosts of the pest (including fruit, plants, nursery stock and sometimes soil) from the quarantine area.
http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/egov/Press_Rel...
Oops. They posting did say they were going to establish a quarantine, however the regulation formally establishing it wasn't filed until Friday.
Unfortunately, there is new information to report. First, Huanglongbing, also known as HLB or citrus greening disease, has been discovered in Mexico, putting the citrus industry on high alert. Also, earlier this week, the Asian citrus psyllid was found in Orange County, then Los Angeles County. Get the most recent news release here: http://bit.ly/6nffw
Teresa, on behalf of the California Citrus Research Board.