Official Pest Report
Official Pest Reports are provided by National Plant Protection Organizations within the NAPPO region. These Pest Reports are intended to comply with the International Plant Protection Convention's Standard on Pest Reporting, endorsed by the Interim Commission on Phytosanitary Measures in March 2002.
Confirmation of citrus black spot (Guignardia citricarpa) in Florida - United States
Confirmation of citrus black spot (Guignardia citricarpa) in Florida - United States
Country: United States
Title: Confirmation of citrus black spot (Guignardia citricarpa) in Florida - United States
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Report:
On April 7, 2010, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) confirmed the identification of Citrus Black Spot (Guignardia citricarpa; CBS) on citrus fruit from Collier County, Florida. The CBS-infected fruit samples were collected from commercial Valencia orange groves. This is the first confirmation of CBS in the United States.
The initial identification was made by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), Department of Plant Industry (DPI) on March 25, 2010. The identification was made as a result of a routine Citrus Health Response Program (CHRP) survey at the grower’s request. Following the preliminary determination by FDACS that the fruit was infected with CBS, APHIS and FDACS personnel revisited the property and collected symptomatic fruit that was sent to the APHIS laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland for confirmatory testing. The commercial citrus groves where CBS was confirmed produces fruit for juicing. An Emergency Action Notification has been issued requiring that the fruit be shipped to local processing plants under tarpaulin or within closed vehicles to prevent spread of CBS. A compliance agreement has been implemented to ensure appropriate cleaning of the conveyance and approved procedures for the disposal of debris. No fruit from the affected groves was shipped out of Florida.
To date, CBS has not been detected in other parts of Florida through multi-pest surveys conducted by FDACS DPI as part of the Federal CHRP Program.
APHIS and FDACS DPI continue to delimit the area to determine the extent of the infestation and are implementing the necessary phytosanitary procedures to prevent the spread of CBS from the infested orchard in Collier County.
Under IPPC standards, Guignardia citricarpa is considered to be a pest that is present only in some areas, and is subject to official control in the United States.
Posted Date: April 8, 2010, 9 a.m.