Citrus Greening

As a native Californian, I grew up enjoying California grown oranges, limes, lemons, and other common citrus. In fact as an adult, these fruits have become a staple of my diet. I try to purchase citrus at farmers markets and I check to see that it is grown in California not only to keep our agricultural sector strong, but because I think we have some of the best quality citrus in the world.

I have recently been educating myself on the latest serious pest related disease to affect Southern California citrus crops and I am starting to get worried that our illustrious citrus industry could be in for some trouble in the near future. The disease damaging Southern California crops is called Citrus Greening; its technical name is Huanglongbing (HLB). The disease is bacterial-based and is being spread by a tiny pest known as the Asian citrus psyllid. This problem seems to have origins in China and was first detected in the Florida citrus crops in the early 2000’s. It has finally made its way to California and that is cause for concern because there is no known cure for the disease, and it kills citrus trees as rapidly as within 5 years once they have become infected. The Florida crops have been under Federal quarantine since the discovery of the outbreak but in spite of that, the disease has emerged in our state recently. It seems to be centralized in the Southern California area and there are several local quarantine orders to prevent the spread of it in our direction here to the North, but that will only slow the spread, not completely contain it. Our central valley farmers have expressed legitimate concern over this disease because it has the potential to wipe out their livelihood. I urge all of us to honor and respect the quarantines on citrus and together we can do our part in keeping containment on Citrus Greening in the foreseeable future.

Asian citrus psyllid adults, yellow nymphs and white wax. (photo from UC IPM online)