Citrus Greening

A pest capable of spreading citrus greening disease has been found in a residential area of Nogales, Ariz.

A single adult Asian citrus psyllid was found Oct. 6 in a trap set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said John Caravetta, associate director of plant services for the Arizona Department of Agriculture.

The tree on which the psyllid was found is about one-quarter of a mile from the U.S./Mexico port of entry in Nogales, Caravetta said. Other psyllids have been found during border crossings, he said. The Oct. 6 find is the first non-border find in Nogales.

In the 11 days since the discovery, no other psyllids have been found in Nogales, Caravetta said Oct. 17. Officials could impose a quarantine on the Nogales area to prevent the spread of psyllids.

A quarantine in place in Yuma, Ariz., has worked well to prevent the spread of the pest, Caravetta said. Before a finding Sept. 30, the Yuma area had gone 15 months without a psyllid finding.

Psyllids were first found in Yuma, Arizona’s leading citrus-producing region, in October 2009.

All psyllids captured in Arizona have tested negative for citrus greening, which can devastate citrus crops, Caravetta said. But greening-bearing psyllids have been found in Mexico as far north as southern Sonora, he said.

“It’s spreading northward.”

Citrus greening, first identified in 2005, has destroyed hundreds of thousands of acres of citrus in Florida. Greening also has been found in Georgia, South Carolina and Louisiana.

Asian citrus psyllids have been found in California and Texas.