Official Pest Report

Official Pest Reports are provided by National Plant Protection Organizations within the NAPPO region. These Pest Reports are intended to comply with the International Plant Protection Convention's Standard on Pest Reporting, endorsed by the Interim Commission on Phytosanitary Measures in March 2002.

Citrus Canker (Xanthomonas spp.): APHIS Adds Portions of Fort Bend and Harris Counties in Texas to the Domestic Quarantine Area.

Country: United States

Title: Citrus Canker (Xanthomonas spp.): APHIS Adds Portions of Fort Bend and Harris Counties in Texas to the Domestic Quarantine Area.

Contact:
Angela McMellen Brannigan, Citrus Disease National Policy Manager, at 301-851-2314.

Report:

Effective immediately, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is expanding the area quarantined for citrus canker in Texas to include additional portions of Fort Bend and Harris Counties to prevent the spread of the disease.

On July 20, 2017, APHIS confirmed the positive identification of citrus canker in one sample collected during a delimiting survey around the existing Richmond Citrus Canker Quarantine area. TDA removed and destroyed the positive citrus canker tree. APHIS completed delimiting surveys around the location and found no other citrus trees positive for citrus canker within the survey area. The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) has established an intrastate quarantine area for citrus canker that parallels the federal citrus canker regulatory requirements as specified in 7 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §301.75.

Under the citrus canker quarantine regulations, the interstate movement of citrus plants and plant parts, other than commercially packed and disinfected citrus fruit, remains prohibited. However, citrus nursery stock that is moved in accordance with regulations as noted in 7 CFR 301.76, may move from areas quarantined for citrus canker.

Under IPPC Standards, species of Xanthomonas that cause citrus canker are considered to be pests that are present, only in some areas in Florida, Louisiana, and Texas and subject to official control in the United States.

Posted Date: April 23, 2018, 9 a.m.