- Author: Melissa G. Womack
As gardeners, we're often generous with our garden's bounty. From sharing seeds and plant trimmings to the joy of gifting homegrown fruit and vegetables, gardening is as much about community as it is about growing plants. However, in this season of sharing, we must also remember our responsibility to prevent the spread of pests and invasive species to protect California's diverse ecosystem.
First detected in California in 2008, Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) has been a concern for both commercial citrus growers and home gardeners. ACP poses a significant threat to California's citrus trees, capable of spreading the deadly huanglongbing (HLB) disease, an incurable condition that eventually kills the tree.
Detecting ACP involves looking for a few key characteristics. ACP is a tiny, mottled brown insect about the size of an aphid. Adults are typically 3 to 4 millimeters long and are identified by their distinctive body shape, where the head is narrower than the body, and they hold their wings tent-like over their bodies. They are most active during warm temperatures, and you might notice them jumping or flying when disturbed. The nymphs, the immature form of the psyllid, are yellowish-orange and secrete white, waxy tubules from the back of their abdomen.
Additionally, ACP leaves telltale signs on citrus leaves, such as twisted or curled new leaf growth. They are sap-feeders, like aphids and mealybugs, so they produce honeydew which leads to the growth of sooty mold. Regularly inspecting your citrus trees, especially the new growth, is key to early detection of ACP.
Recent updates to the USDA's Plant Protection and Quarantine citrus map highlights areas that are generally infested with ACP and those which are not. This distinction is crucial for understanding the regulations and eradication efforts in different regions across the state. To find detailed quarantine information by county or zones, visit the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) ACP Regulation and Quarantine Boundaries website and maps.
Looking at the map pictured above, areas in the southern region of California, south of the Grapevine or San Gabriel and Tehachapi Mountain Ranges, and as far up the coast as Santa Barbara County are considered generally infested. The CDFA does not carry out eradication efforts for ACP in these areas. In areas north of the Grapevine, an ACP detection on a residential citrus tree would trigger an eradication response from the CDFA.
As we approach the holiday season, a popular time for gardeners to share budwood for grafting, it's crucial to understand the importance of not moving citrus planting material between quarantine areas. It is especially important not to move budwood or citrus from Southern California or the Bay Area into California's Central Valley.
To aid in this effort, UC Master Gardener Program resources are available to help educate you about identifying ACP and understanding the quarantine regulations. Here are some key actions you can take:
- Only purchase new citrus trees from reputable nurseries.
- Do not accept tree cuttings or budwood from friends or family.
- After pruning or removing a citrus tree, dry out the green waste or double bag it to help ensure the green waste is disposed of appropriately.
- Control ants in and near citrus trees with bait stations. Scientists have released natural enemies of ACP in Southern California to help keep the pest in check, but ants aid ACP in evading the natural enemies.
The UC Agriculture and Natural Resources ACP website offers an interactive map tool, biological control efforts, and an online calculator for the potential costs of using insecticides. Additionally, the Statewide UC Integrated Pest Management website provides free online training for gardeners and detailed Pest Notes on ACP and HLB disease. Remember, inspecting your citrus trees is vital to prevent the spread of ACP and HLB. If you suspect an infestation, contact the CDFA Exotic Pest Hotline at 1 (800) 491-1899 or your local county agricultural commissioner.
Let's continue to share the bounties of our gardens, but let's do so responsibly, keeping our citrus trees safe and healthy. Together, we can make a difference in the fight against ACP and HLB.
- Author: Ben Faber
The recent find of an infected adult Asian citrus psyllid in Santa Paula prompted the search for the potentially infected tree by CA Department of Food and Agriculture personnel to spread out to look and test. Two trees were found and presumably they will be destroyed. This now prompts a much more intense survey of the surrounding 2/10ths of a mile of those trees. It also places a quarantine on the movement of fruit out of that area, extending out 5 miles. That means no fruit or plant parts should be taken out of the area, potentially spreading the insects and disease to other areas, unless those plant parts have been properly treated. You can read more about the actions taken in a quarantine when infected insects or plants are found HERE . And in this document you can read about the details in and around a quarantined area and how the fruit and plants should be treated HERE.
As is the case in the spread of many invasive pests, it is humans that can be the main mode of movement of the pest and disease.
- Author: Ben Faber
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- Author: Ben Faber
Asian citrus psyllids transmit a disease that can ruin your oranges. Even worse, Argentine ants protect them in exchange for the psyllids' delicate ribbons of sugary poop, called honeydew. So, researchers are helping orange growers fight back with invisible lasers, ghastly wasps and more trickery.
A tiny insect called the Asian citrus psyllid is threatening your oranges, lemons and limes. Smaller than a grain of rice, the agricultural pest sucks the sap from citrus trees and in doing so spreads a disease that ruins the fruit and eventually kills the citrus trees. “It's pretty straightforward to tell if you have an Asian citrus psyllid infestation in your citrus,” says Mark Hoddle, who leads a laboratory at UC Riverside that studies the pest and how to beat it. “Just check the tender young green leaves at the tips of the branches. If you see the white curly cues, the insect poop dripping off of those leaves, that's almost certainly a characteristic symptom of an Asian citrus psyllid infestation.” Hoddle's team is studying novel ways to keep psyllids out of citrus orchards, but that task is complicated by the psyllid's relationship with another insect, the Argentine ant. “Their relationship is rather sinister,” says Hoddle. “The Argentine ants harvest the honey dew that the Asian citrus psyllid nymphs excrete because it's nice and sugary and the ants love eating sugar. In return for providing that sweet delicacy, the ants protect the Asian citrus psyllids from their natural enemies like the predators and the parasitic wasps that we have introduced from Pakistan.” “The psyllids need protection from the ants because they lack defense systems,” says Hoddle. “They have recruited mercenaries to protect them.” So to protect the valuable citrus industry, Hoddle and his team are going after the psyllids' ant bodyguards.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtPXows1FWs
- Author: Ben Faber
Spanish-language Training Opportunity for Field Crews
The Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Program is hosting three free training workshops for field crew supervisors and farm labor contractors in San Diego, Ventura and Tulare counties this month. The training workshops will be in presented in Spanish and will review best practices for field crews on how they can properly prevent the spread of Asian citrus psyllids (ACP) with a hands-on training opportunity.
The Train-the-Trainer workshops will each be a half-day in length and will take place on the following dates:
- Monday, August 21 at 10 a.m. – Escondido, San Diego County
- Tuesday, August 22 at 10 a.m. – Limoneira Co, Santa Paula, Ventura County
- Thursday, August 24 at 8 a.m. – Exeter, Tulare County
The training workshops will also fulfill the requirement listed in CDFA's harvesters/farm labor contractors' compliance agreement for these industry members to stay abreast of ACP and Huanglongbing (HLB) prevention best practices. In addition, compliance agreements will be available at the training workshops.
RSVPs are strongly encouraged. Location details, workshop start times and additional information will be sent upon RSVP. Please RSVP using the following link below.
Front-line leaders in the field will be able to learn firsthand about what they can do to reduce the risk of spreading ACP, and ultimately how to protect local groves from HLB.
During the workshop, participants will:
- Learn best practices for field crews to prevent ACP from spreading in between neighboring groves.
- Practice using effective communication techniques to help their crews and others understand these best practices and why they are important.
- Understand the threat of HLB to the livelihood of the California citrus industry.
We all must do our part if we're going to protect California citrus from this pest and disease – and field crews are at the forefront. Packinghouses are encouraged to send their staff and crews to this valuable workshop as a way to provide an extra layer of protection in preventing the spread of ACP in their groves.
For questions, please email Natalie DeAngelo at nd@nstpr.com.
Agéndela: Oportunidad de capacitación en español para equipos de campo
El Programa de Prevención contra las Plagas y las Enfermedades de los Cítricos organiza este mes tres talleres gratuitos de capacitación para los supervisores de los equipos de campo y contratistas de trabajo agrícola en los condados de San Diego, de Ventura y de Tulare. Los talleres se presentarán en español, repasarán las mejores prácticas para los equipos de campo con respecto a la prevención adecuada de la propagación del psílido asiático de los cítricos (PAC) y brindarán la oportunidad de una capacitación práctica.
Cada Taller de Capacitación para el Instructor durará medio día en las siguientes fechas:
- Lunes, 21 de agosto a las 10:00 a. m. – Escondido, condado de San Diego
- Martes, 22 de agosto – Santa Paula, condado de Ventura (luego se decidirá el horario)
- Jueves, 24 de agosto – Exeter, condado de Tulare (luego se decidirá el horario)
Se recomienda que reserve su lugar. El lugar y el horario de los talleres, así como información adicional se le enviará en cuanto reserve. Hágalo en el enlace siguiente.
Los líderes principales del campo podrán aprender de primera mano lo que pueden hacer para disminuir el riesgo de la propagación del PAC y, fundamentalmente, cómo proteger los huertos locales de la Huanglongbing (HLB).
Durante el taller, los participantes podrán:
- Aprender las mejores prácticas para los equipos de campo para prevenir que el PAC se propague entre los huertos vecinos.
- Ensayar el uso de técnicas efectivas de comunicación para ayudar a sus equipos y a otros a entender las mejores prácticas y su importancia.
- Entender la amenaza de la HLB a la subsistencia de la industria californiana de los cítricos.
Todos debemos poner de nuestra parte para proteger a los cítricos de California de esta plaga y enfermedad, y los equipos de campo están en la vanguardia. Se recomienda que las plantas empacadoras envíen a su personal y a sus equipos a este valioso taller para brindar una capa extra de protección a la prevención de la propagación del PAC en sus huertos.
Si tiene preguntas, escríbale a Natalie DeAngelo a nd@nstpr.com.