Community Corner

Insect That Can Carry Citrus Killing Disease At Coachella Valley's Doorstep

The eight locations where the Asian Citrus Psyllid has been detected in Cabazon, Banning and Beaumont are all residential, and none of them are commercial groves, a state branch chief of pest detection/emergency projects said Tuesday evening in Banning.

None of the eight locations where insects that can spread a citrus-killing disease have been detected in the San Gorgonio Pass are commercial groves, a state Department of Food and Agriculture official said this week.

The sites where the Asian Citrus Psyllid has been detected in Cabazon, Banning and Beaumont are all residential, Debby Tanouye, state branch chief of pest detection/emergency projects, said in an interview at a Jan. 31 public meeting in city council chambers.

Whether any commercial groves in the Pass are at risk or not, state officials are concerned about detection of the Asian Citrus Psyllid in Cabazon, Banning and Beaumont because there are significant commercial citrus operations further east, Tanouye said.

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"So far these are the eastern-most detections in Riverside County, so we would like to treat this area to knock down the population, and prevent it from spreading to the Coachella Valley," Tanouye said.

Several Pass-area property owners came to hear what state officials had to say about the state's recently-announced program to eradicate the pest.

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Inge Schuler, who owns five acres in a residential-agricultural zone in south Banning, said she's been notified the Asian Citrus Psyllid has been detected in the single citrus tree she has on her property.

"I learned Saturday afternoon when I got the mail," Schuler said. "Notification of this meeting."

Before Tanouye arrived at the meeting, Schuler said she was finding direct answers to her questions hard to come by.

"So far this feels like divide and conquer, because they have a lot of personnel here, zeroing in on individuals and giving their spiel, and they are not receptive to answering specific questions, whether they do not know, or do not want to give the information," Schuler said.

"I wanted to know the names of the scientists that acted as their consultants, according to their notice, and I need to know the names of the relevant articles and publications of the research results . . . because they're dealing with non-selective chemicals that are absorbed by the roots of the tree, and I need to know how long the chemicals will stay in the tree, whether they will actually affect the production of the tree, the fruit. . . .

"They tell us we can wash the fruit, the citrus, but if it is systemic, it's inside the meat of the fruit that we're going to be eating, so they couldn't answer that question. . . . The two chemicals they're using are apparently synthetic, and the one that is used on the soil they could not give me any information about the surface tension runoff. That means how quickly it is absorbed into the soil. With the runoff, where does it go, and how does it affect other plants producing fruit or berries or anything else that might be in the neighborhood?

"The pesticides are non-selective, meaning they will affect other insects, including honey bees that will pollinate other trees," Schuler said.

Schuler, 73, said she is a retired teacher and she's been in Banning 33 years.

"They couldn't answer these questions."

The state Department of Food and Agriculture last week announced to eradicate the pest in the San Gorgonio Pass.

The insect known as Asian Citrus Psyllid can transmit the disease Huanglongbing, "the most devastating disease to citrus in the world," when it feeds on the plants’ leaves and stems, according the Food and Agriculture Department.

"Symptoms of HLB include yellow shoots, small upright leaves, fruit that does not fully color and lopsided fruit with bitter flavor," the department advised.

Dr. Bryan Eya, state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, tried Tuesday night to address some of the concerns raised by Schuler and others.

"I'm here as one of the state agencies to support CDFA's effort to answer any health-related issues associated with the treatment, the two pesticides that are being used in the program area," Eya said in an interview.

"They are both synthetic pesticides," Eya said. "One is a pyrethroid, which is modeled after a natural product that is collected from the flower-head of chrysanthemum."

The synthetic pyrethroid is known as Cyfluthrin, and its trade name is Tempo, according to a fact sheet distributed at the meeting. Tempo is sprayed on foliage, Eya said.

"The other product is a neonicotinoid, a new type of insecticide that mimics nicotine," Eya said.

The synthetic neonicotinoid is known as Imidacloprid, and its trade name is Merit, according to another fact sheet. Merit is applied as a treatment by soil saturation, Eya said.

Both pesticides are available for over-the-counter purchase at hardware stores and other dealers of gardening supplies, Eya said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved both pesticides for indoor and outdoor use, Eya said, adding that neither chemical is considered harmful to domestic pets.

Imidacloprid is also being used as a back-of-the-neck flea treatment on dogs, Eya said.

Fruit that has been treated by either pesticide can be washed and eaten, the same as any fruit purchased at a local grocer, Tanouye said.

The psyllid was detected Jan. 3 and Jan. 4 in Banning and Cabazon, according to a state proclamation dated Jan. 20.

In addition, the insect "has been detected in many areas in Southern California – Riverside, Imperial, San Diego and Los Angeles counties, primarily," Steve Lyle of the Food and Agriculture Department said last week.

The Asian Citrus Psyllid has also been detected in northern Mexico and Texas, and there is concern for California's $1.8 billion citrus industry, Tanouye said.

"There is not a cure for Huanglongbing, or the citrus greening disease, so the tree will eventually die," Tanouye said.

"The biggest production area for citrus is the Central Valley - Fresno, Tulare, Kern, those counties," Tanoye said. "Our citrus is mainly sold for fresh market, as opposed to juice, so it's important that we have fruit that isn't distorted, that's not discolored, not misshapen, and we have to have a good product to put out for commerce, that people will buy."

Tanouye said she came to Banning Tuesday from an earlier meeting in Redlands, where the Asian Citrus Cyllid has been detected in a city-owned grove.

"There's a lot of concern," Tanouye said. "We're treating in all the counties it's been detected. For example, we're treating northern L.A. County because we're trying to protect the citrus in Ventura County.

"We're treating here because we're trying to protect the citrus in the Coachella Valley, as well as residential citrus. Everyone loves their citrus trees. Fruit from their own backyards. It's the best fruit you can have."

"The fruit is not quarantined," Tanouye said. "However if you move the fruit it has to be free of leaves and stems, so it's important that people don't try to move their citrus trees, plants or cuttings."

A pdf copy of the state map that shows in the San Gorgonio Pass is attached to this report.

In the map's legend of terms, "detection site" is defined as a spot where the Asian Citrus Psyllid has "already been detected," Lyle of the Department of Food and Agriculture said last week.

State Sen. Bill Emmerson, R-Hemet, sent out an advisory last week about the insect and expansion of the emergency program.

"As the top citrus-producing state in the nation, California's citrus industry has a $1.8 billion impact on our state’s economy," Emmerson said.  "It's crucial that we act immediately to protect Riverside County from the devastating effect of this pest on our local economy as well as our environment."

Emmerson's staff released the pdf map of eight detection sites in Beaumont, Banning and Cabazon. The map includes detection program boundaries, ground treatment areas, and "sensitive environmental areas" with treatment mitigations in place.

For more information about the Asian Citrus Psyllid and the disease Huanglongbing, visit the Department of Food and Agriculture's ACP site.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture lists the following contacts for Asian Citrus Psyllid reports and questions:

Report A Pest Hotline: 1 (800) 491-1899

Eradication Information: 1 (800) 491-1899

Quarantine Information: (916) 654-0312

Pest Detection / Emergency Projects: (916) 654-1211


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