Deadly citrus bug moving closer to Yuma County

A pest that threatens the future of citrus in the desert Southwest is moving closer to Yuma County, warns an official with the California Citrus Research Board.
 
The pest, the Asian citrus psyllid, has been found in Imperial County, most recently in Westmorland about 70 miles west of Yuma, said Ted Batkin.

Batkin, president of the California organization, was in Yuma Monday to increase awareness of the pest and the disease it carries.
 
The psyllid is a vector for a disease that is a death sentence for the citrus trees it infects. Called huanglongbing, also known as citrus greening, the disease already has led to the near destruction of the citrus industry in Florida and other parts of the world, including Asia, India, Brazil and parts of the Middle East.
 
There is no known cure for the disease, he said. "We still have only a chain saw solution. All we can do is cut down the tree. The tree will eventually die."
 
If the disease arrives here, it could destroy Yuma County's citrus industry and the ability of Yuma homeowners to grow oranges, lemons and grapefruit in their backyards, Batkin said.
 
The pest appears to be moving across northern Mexico along Highway 101.
 
"Connect the dots," he said. "There's a risk of the pest being dropped off of plant material all along the border."
 
First found in Tijuana last summer, the psyllid soon was found across the border in San Diego County. It since has been found in Mexicali and in Imperial County in Ocotillo, Calexico, Seeley and Westmorland.
 
The good news, Batkin said, is that the disease has not been found in this region. But he fears it is only a matter of time.
 
"The assumption in California is that it is in someone's yard," he said. "It's probably been brought in on a tree and is just sitting there waiting for the psyllid to show up."
 
Once the psyllid feeds on an infected tree, it can spread the disease to other trees for miles around, he said.
 
Taking a lesson from Florida, where little action was taken when the psyllid was first found there in 1998, the California Citrus Research Board is creating an operations department with experienced plant pathologist MaryLou Polek at its helm. Her first priority is to set up new diagnostic laboratories to enable mass sampling of psyllids and plant material.
 
The citrus board is working closely with agriculture officials in Yuma County and in Mexico to share information and train people to survey for the psyllid, Batkin said. "The object is to get as many eyes out there as possible to look for the pest. We also are developing massive testing capabilities so we're testing constantly for the presence of the disease. We want to find that first introduction of the disease so it can be eradicated and the psyllid can't pick it up and spread it."
 
Batkin also encourages homeowners to regularly survey their citrus trees for the presence of the psyllid or symptoms of the citrus greening disease. He also offered these suggestions:
 
• Don't import citrus trees. If planting a citrus tree, get one only from a reputable nursery.
 
• Don't move plant material around.
 
• Don't carry citrus across the border.
 
For more psyllid information, including photos of the pest, go to www.CaliforniaCitrusThreat.org.
 
California residents can contact CDFA's toll-free pest hot line at 1-800-491-1899 to report suspicious insects or disease symptoms in their citrus trees.
 
Yuma County residents also can call that number or contact University of Arizona citrus researcher Glenn Wright at 782-3836; John Loghry, manager of the Yuma County Citrus Pest Control District, at 503-2477; or Yuma County Cooperative Extension Director Kurt Nolte at 726-3904.


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Joyce Lobeck can be reached at jlobeck@yumasu.com or 539-6853.