Border community reminded about prohibited plants

As the U.S.-Mexico border community prepares for the upcoming All Souls Day (Día de los Muertos) holiday, travelers are asked to take care that they don't bring any hitchhiking insects into the country along with their holiday decorations.

Certain agricultural items often used in the traditional celebration can carry a potentially deadly citrus pest and therefore are prohibited from entry into the U.S., advises the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Many border community families celebrate Día de los Muertos by constructing altars to commemorate the lives of loved ones or famous people who have died. A common type of ornamental greenery known as muraya, or orange jasmine is sometimes used in the construction of these altars.

However, muraya is a host plant for the Asian citrus psyllid, an insect that can carry citrus greening disease. The disease is fatal to infected citrus trees and is considered a serious potential threat to citrus production in Arizona.

U.S. and Arizona agriculture officials are aggressively monitoring the psyllid, since its discovery in Southern California and in San Luis Rio Colorado, Son. Most recently, a psyllid was trapped in a residential area of San Luis, Ariz.

Citrus greening, also known as Huanglongbing, is a disease caused by a bacterium that can infect most citrus varieties and some ornamental plants, such as orange jasmine. It was first detected in the U.S. in 2005 in Miami-Dade County, Fla. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the disease has seriously affected citrus production in India, Asia, Southeast Asia, the Arabian Peninsula and Africa.

Residents along the U.S.-Mexico border are asked to not bring any orange jasmine or other prohibited citrus fruits and plants from Mexico or any foreign country into the U.S. Prohibited citrus includes oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, sour oranges and sweet limes.

Other popular non-citrus fruits that also are prohibited include guavas, mangoes, peaches and pomegranates.

Failure to declare prohibited agricultural items can result in fines. Penalties for personal importations of undeclared, prohibited agricultural items, depending on the severity of the violation, can run as high as $1,000 and up to more than $250,000 for commercial importations.

The traveling public can learn more about prohibited fruits, vegetables, plant and animal products and other prohibited items by consulting the “Know Before You Go” guide or the list of top 10 travelers tips online at http://cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/kbyg.

For more information about the psyllid and citrus greening disease, visit http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/citrus_greening.