http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/article/20090228/NEWS01/902280331

Insect was found in Imperial Valley

BY DAVID CASTELLON • dcastell@visalia.gannett.com • February 28, 2009

Early in February, truckloads of lemons arrived at juice plants in Tipton and Orosi.

They came from Imperial County, where, along with parts of San Diego County, an insect that spreads the most dangerous citrus killer in the world has been found.

The bacteria itself, known as huanglongbing, or "HLB," hasn't been found in California, but a jittery citrus industry is alert to anything related to the insect that can spread the disease, the Asian citrus psyllid.

So when stems and leaves were spotted on the lemons from Imperial County, Tulare County agriculture officials were notified and inspected the lemon loads, Marilyn Kinoshita, Tulare County's deputy agriculture commissioner, said.

Strict quarantines have been enacted in California to prevent the spread of the bugs to other parts of the state.

Lemons or other citrus shipped from Imperial County or parts of San Diego County first have to have leaves and stems removed. Psyllids roost and feed on them, not the fruit itself. While no signs of Asian citrus psyllids were found, "We rejected the loads," Kinoshita said. "And they went back to Imperial County."

In their adult forms Asian citrus psyllids have wings and can easily be moved along by strong winds.

In Florida, hurricanes significantly propelled their migration, said A.G. Kawamura, California's secretary of agriculture.

California's Santa Ana winds could help the insects migrate here, Kawamura said.

Besides wind, the transport of citrus trees and their ornamental cousins, which the psyllids also feed upon, also are a concern, Kawamura said. "We feel very strongly it has been moved by people."

Indeed, historical records show that HLB likely infected trees in China in the 1800s. As populations there grew — along with China's citrus industry — so did the spread of the disease, said Mary Lou Polek, a plant pathologist and vice president of operations for the California Citrus Research Board in Visalia.

Psyllids were first detected in Brazil in the 1940s, possibly brought there by immigrants, or visitors from China may have brought infected trees there, Polek said. HLB was first detected in Brazil in 2004.

It's believed Asian citrus psyllids came to Texas' Rio Grande Valley on untreated nursery plants shipped from Florida, according to a report commissioned by California Citrus Mutual, the Exeter-based growers cooperative.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has put up $5.8 million to combat Asian citrus psyllids in California.

That isn't enough, said Joel Nelsen, president of California Citrus Mutual, because the federal money is earmarked for psyllid detection and disease survey work in Imperial and San Diego counties, as well as some neighboring counties. As for Tulare County and the rest of the state, more money is needed to buy insect traps as well as equipment to check for HLB infections among trees and psyllids, he said.

The California citrus industry is looking to raise money on its own and is working on imposing a field carton assessments — 1-cent on each carton of citrus sold in the state — with the hopes of raising $10 million in two years, Nelsen said.

Part of the money may be used to help cover costs of replacing infected citrus trees removed from people's gardens, Nelsen said.

In addition, the industry has launched a major campaign to educate people working in the citrus industry and private individuals about HLB.

"The education campaign is critical," said Richard Lee, a plant pathologist for U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Services in Riverside. "We need everyone looking for the disease."