State agricultural officials have placed the Coachella Valley under quarantine to minimize the spread of the Asian citrus psyllid, which can carry a disease deadly to lemon and orange trees.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture has announced that more than 2,000 square miles of Riverside and San Bernardino counties, including the Palm Springs area, were put under quarantine after psyllids were trapped in nearby parts of Imperial, San Diego and Los Angeles counties.
The bug was recently found in Desert Shores, which is about 20 miles south of Indio, according to Steve Lyle, Director of Public Affairs for the state's Department of Food and Agriculture.
The Asian citrus psyllid is of concern because it can lead to the spread of Huanglongbing (HLB) disease, also known as citrus greening, according to Lyle. While this disease has yet to surface in California, it has decimated the Florida citrus industry, according to Lyle.
What does this mean for you?For the average person, the quarantine, which was imposed on November 16, will affect you if you have a citrus plant on your property. The Department of Food and Agriculture asks that you not remove and of the fruit from your property, so as to reduce the risk of spreading the psyllid.
For citrus producers, it means that they can only take the fruit out of the quarantine zone if it is commercially cleaned and packed. The may not, under any circumstances, remove the plant itself from the area, according to Lyle. If they do, they can face penalties, but Lyle said this is usually not a problem as the producers also wish to prevent the spread of the pest.
Click here for a detailed description of the pest. If you think you have spotted these on your citrus plants, call the Riverside County Agricultural Commissioner's Office at (951) 955-3000, or the Indio location at (760) 342-5070.
The QuarantineThe quarantine covers roughly 8,500 square miles in Southern California. Agricultural officials announced that the San Diego portion of the zone had expanded by nearly 1,000 square miles.
An additional 5,700 square miles are under quarantine in other parts of the state.
The state agricultural department said it is hard to say when the quarantine will be lifted, as they are still learning about the overall infestation.
Click here if you would like to see a map of the quarantine zone.
