Country: United States

Title:

Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri (causal agent of Citrus Canker): APHIS Establishes a Domestic Quarantine in Baldwin County, Alabama

Contact:
Shailaja Rabindran, Director of Specialty Crops and Cotton Pests, (301) 851-2167.

Report:

Effective immediately, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries (ADAI) are establishing a quarantine for citrus canker for all of Baldwin County, Alabama, to prevent the spread of the disease.

On June 22, 2021, APHIS confirmed the positive identification of citrus canker from two citrus trees located on a residential property in Baldwin County, Alabama. By November 4, ADAI detected citrus canker in a total of 12 citrus trees within residential and commercial citrus. On February 9, 2022, ADAI established an intrastate quarantine for citrus canker that parallels the federal citrus canker regulatory requirements specified in 7 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) § 301.75.

Under the current citrus canker quarantine regulations, the interstate movement of citrus plants and plant parts, other than commercially packed and disinfected citrus fruit remains prohibited. Citrus nursery stock that is moved in accordance with regulations contained in 7 CFR § 301.75-6 may move from areas quarantined for citrus canker.

The establishment of this quarantine area is reflected on the following designated website, which also contains a description of all the current federal citrus canker quarantine areas:

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant-health/citrus-canker

Under IPPC standards, Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri causal agent of citrus canker is present only in some areas in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas. This species is not widely distributed and is under official control in the United States.

Posted Date: Sept. 26, 2022, 11:19 a.m.