Country: United States

Title: Federal Domestic Quarantine Order for Citrus Greening or (Huanglongbing), Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus

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On September 16, 2005, the USDA, Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine (USDA, APHIS, PPQ) announced “New Federal Restrictions to Prevent Movement of Citrus Greening,” subsequent to the identification of the first U.S. detection of citrus greening caused by the bacterium, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus.  The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) has established quarantined counties and areas for this disease and imposed restrictions governing the intrastate movement of certain host material.  PPQ passed parallel restrictions via a Federal Domestic Quarantine Order pertaining to Broward, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Palm Beach Counties and to portions of Collier, DeSoto, Hendry, Sarasota, and St. Lucie Counties in Florida.  The location of quarantined areas and other information from FDACS about the disease and the vector may be found at: http://www.doacs.state.fl.us/pi/chrp/greening/citrusgreening.html. 

In order to move nursery plants out of the quarantine counties or areas, a compliance agreement has been developed by FDACS and APHIS.  The agreement specifies controls on and treatments of ornamental hosts of the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri, the insect vector of the pathogen.  For intrastate movement, a State compliance agreement will specify treatments and conditions for movement, and a State certificate will accompany shipments.  For interstate movement of these psyllid hosts from nurseries, APHIS’ compliance agreements that specify treatments and other conditions for the movement of plants must be used, a State certificate/limited permit will accompany shipments, and movement will only be allowed to non-citrus growing states.  Movement of psyllid hosts is prohibited to the citrus growing States of Alabama, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Louisiana, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, Texas, and the Virgin Islands of the United States. 

Movement of citrus greening disease hosts is prohibited outside the quarantine area.  FDACS and PPQ anticipate Murraya paniculata is likely to be proven as a host of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, and FDACS has strongly recommended nurseries to consider curtailing future inventories of Murraya plants which could be impacted by regulations that prevent its movement into and out of Florida.  PPQ concurs with the recommendation.

Posted Date: May 4, 2006, 9 a.m.