- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The discovery last month of one Asian citrus psyllid on a sticky trap perched in an Arroyo Grande lemon tree has the citrus industry and agricultural commissioner on guard, reported Jono Kinkade in the San Luis Obispo New Times.
They've established a quarantine zone within a five-mile radius of the ACP find and monitoring has been stepped up in the area. Officials are concerned because of the psyllid's ability to spread huanglongbing disease, should the disease make its way into California. (So far, only one backyard tree has been found in California infected with...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
More than 100 Asian citrus psyllids were found on three backyard orange trees east of Dinuba, reported Robert Rodriguez in the Fresno Bee. The homeowner told officials the trees were planted in April 2012 and were acquired from a private party, not a nursery.
"It was incredible," said Fresno County entomologist Gene Hannon. "There were easily a dozen on just one small leaf."
Previous finds in the Valley numbered from one to three on yellow sticky traps in the Tulare County communities of Lindsay, Strathmore and Terra Bella.
Beth Grafton-Cardwell, UC Cooperative Extension...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Numerous Asian citrus psyllids were found in east Dinuba and traced to recently planted backyard orange trees, according to reports in The Business Journal in Fresno and The Fresno Bee.
“This is very surprising and very disappointing,” said Joel Nelsen, president of California Citrus Mutual in Exeter.
This was the third ACP find in Tulare County this year. An Asian citrus psyllid was discovered in Wasco, Kern County, last week.
The Tulare County Agricultural...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The early morning agriculture show on KMJ 580 in Fresno opened this morning with comments about UC's new Asian citrus psyllid website from Beth Grafton-Cardwell, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Entomology at UC Riverside.
"There are a lot of websites out there relating to Asian citrus psyllid and huanglongbing disease," Grafton-Cardwell said. "What I tried to do in this one is give it a management focus with action steps: Here's where the bug and disease are, here's what you should do if you're a grower, here's what you should do if you're a homeowner. It connects the dots."
The story notes that the website...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
State officials will spray pesticide on residential citrus trees near Fallbrook today (Dec. 17), part of an ongoing effort across Southern California to prevent a devastating citrus disease, reported the San Diego Union Tribune.The pesticide application targets Asian citrus psyllid, which can transmit huanglongbing disease.
Residents in the area have been notified, said Steve Lyle, spokesman for the California Department of Food and Agriculture. He said officials have used the same preventive approach in San Diego County since 2008, when the pest was first discovered locally.
Union Tribune reporter Chris Nichols added...