It’s a tiny little insect, less than a quarter of an inch in size. But, Asian Citrus Psyllids can carry a disease that’s deadly to backyard citrus trees. They pose a massive threat to the state’s $2.2 billion citrus industry. There is no cure, and infected trees have to be removed and destroyed.
The psyllids have been found in the Tri-Counties for several years.
But, for the first time, the disease they can carry, called Huanglongbing (HLB), has been detected in the region.
"We have, for lack of a better term, an insect disease complex. We have an invasive insect that carries a disease, a bacterial disease, of citrus," said Victoria Hornbaker, who is the California Department of Food And Agriculture’s Citrus Director.
"The Asian Citrus Psyllid really likes to feed on citrus trees. That's its primary food. It's like a mosquito feeds on a human," said Hornbaker.
She said it pierces into the leaf to suck the juices out. When it does that, the bacteria then infects, and eventually kills the plant.
Hornbaker says the insect, and the disease have been spreading around the world.
"The disease comes from Asia. It's been found in China, and India. Through international commerce, it came into Florida, then Texas, and now we have it in California, and most recently, Ventura County," Hornbaker said.
Asian Citrus Psyllids have been detected for years in Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo Counties. But, the discovery of trees with the disease in the region is a first.
Two trees with HLB were discovered in the yard of a Santa Paula home. The state set up a five mile radius quarantine area around the property. As state and Ventura County agricultural teams started to explore the 100 square mile quarantine area, they found 13 infected trees on nine properties.
When an infected tree is discovered, state teams will remove it completely, even the roots, so neighboring trees aren’t impacted. Nearby, uninfected trees are treated to try to kill citrus psyllids which might be in the area.
The State Department of Food and Agriculture official says the good news is that commercial growers in Ventura County haven’t been hit by the citrus disease. In fact, so far the state working with counties have been able to keep the disease out of commercial citrus groves.
About 6,000 infected trees have been removed during the last few years from five Southern California Counties, but they have been residential, and not commercial citrus trees.
Ventura County’s quarantine area is bordered on the north by Ojai Road, on the south by East Los Angeles Avenue, on the west by Wells Road and on the east by Balcom Canyon Road.
The quarantine bans movement of citrus nursery stock, host plants, and plant parts out of the area. Fruit that’s grown in the quarantine area can still be used, but it can’t be taken outside of the zone. Commercially grown fruit is exempted, because it goes through an inspection and cleaning process.
