By Jennifer Dorsett
Field Editor
Brazoria and Galveston counties are now included in the Texas citrus greening quarantine zone, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service experts.
The disease, which is spread by an insect called the Asian citrus psyllid, has no cure and eventually kills infected trees.
The Asian citrus psyllid is about the size of a toothpick tip. While in the nymph stage, it is slightly larger, yellow-orange with bright red eyes. Adult psyllids have a distinctive 45-degree angle posture when on a leaf.
More than two dozen counties in Texas, mostly in South Texas and the Coastal Bend, are now under a citrus greening quarantine.
The quarantine restricts the movement of plant material and all varieties known to be impacted by the disease, said Stephen Brueggerhoff, a Brazoria County AgriLife Extension horticulture agent. He noted it is believed the disease was discovered in a residential backyard citrus variety.
“I think the message we want to get out to the public is that everyone needs to take precautions to prevent the spread of this disease and to report the vector psyllids when found,” Breuggerhoff said. “We want people to be able to identify the disease symptoms and the psyllid. Announcing the quarantine is part of that effort.”
There is no cure for the disease, which affects the production, quality and appearance of citrus trees. Citrus greening causes blotchy mottling on older leaves, and fruit from an infected tree are usually small, misshapen or lopsided.
While citrus greening doesn’t affect human health, affected fruit is often unmarketable. Infected trees are stunted and eventually die. It has devastated citrus crops in Florida, and it was first found in Texas in January 2012 in Hidalgo County.
Texas A&M AgriLife Research was awarded nearly $2 million in July to fund two projects to combat citrus greening. AgriLife Research will collaborate with the University of California System and others on the projects.
The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) oversees citrus greening quarantine zones in the state.
For more information and to view current quarantine maps, visit TDA’s citrus greening web page.
I think Texas Citrus Growers should sue Houston Garden Center, they are the ones that brought the infected trees from the Valley into Harris County.
We also need to give some the blame to TDA for not establishing a guarantee for the movement of citrus plants from the valley north.