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.

Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (Citrus greening): APHIS Expands the Quarantined Area in Texas

Country: United States

Title: Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (Citrus greening): APHIS Expands the Quarantined Area in Texas

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

Report:

Effectively immediately, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), in cooperation with the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA), and the Texas citrus industry, is expanding the area quarantined for citrus greening (Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus) in Texas. APHIS is adding all of Brazoria, Galveston, and Jim Hogg Counties in Texas. APHIS is taking this action because of citrus greening detections in plant tissue samples collected in multiple locations in Texas. 

APHIS is applying safeguarding measures on the interstate movement of regulated articles from the regulated areas in Texas. These measures parallel the intrastate quarantine that TDA established on October 7, 2019. This action is necessary to prevent the spread of citrus greening to non-infested areas of the United States. 

The specific changes to the regulated areas in Texas are attached and can also be found at: 

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

APHIS will publish a notice of this change in the Federal Register.

Under IPPC Standards, 'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus' is considered to be a pest that is present, only in some areas, and subject to official control to limit its spread in the United States.

Posted Date: Dec. 11, 2019, 9:21 a.m.