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Tiny bug could mean big citrus problem


The Asian citrus psyllid is only an eighth-inch long, but it can carry a devastating disease.
(Photo: Courtesy CDFA)
Finding of first Asian citrus psyllid in Sacramento cause for alarm




How bad can one little bug be? When it comes to the Asian citrus psyllid, the consequences can be devastating.

Imagine California without oranges. That’s what this bug can do.

That’s also why agricultural authorities are so concerned about the discovery of one psyllid in south Sacramento.

Found in the Lemon Hill neighborhood, the singular psyllid prompted the California Department of Food and Agriculture to quarantine all of Sacramento County. Citrus trees, nursery stock and plant parts (except the fruit itself) cannot be moved out of the quarantine area.

It’s not the damage this invasive insect can do on its own. They’re itty-bitty sapsuckers with an appetite for new shoots of citrus trees, causing deformed growth. But it’s the disease these bugs carry that sets off alarm.

Only an eighth-inch long, the Asian citrus psyllid ( Diaphorina citri ) is the primary vector for the bacteria that causes Huanglongbing (HLB), one of the world’s worst citrus diseases. Nicknamed citrus greening disease, HLB causes citrus trees to produce bitter, ugly fruit that stays partially green. The tree itself suffers intense dieback before succumbing to the disease. There is no cure.

Florida had its first HLB case in 2005, according to reports. By 2008, most of its citrus farms were infected. According to the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, citrus greening is responsible for the loss of $4.64 billion in revenues from orange and grapefruit production in the decade since HLB took hold in that state. It also cost an estimated 3,700 jobs and $1.76 billion in lost labor income.

California’s citrus farmers are worried the same could happen here.

Researchers are working on ways to combat the disease and the bug. As of yet, there are no HLB resistant varieties; all citrus is susceptible.

Fortunately, the citrus psyllid has several natural predators including lady beetles, hoverflies, lacewings and parasitic wasps, according to University of California research. No one insecticide fully controls it. Read more here:
http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/r107304411.html

The key to stopping this invasion will lie with backyard citrus growers. In 2012, the first California case of HLB was traced back to a home gardener who grafted a piece of infected scion wood onto a backyard citrus tree. Now, there are more than 1,100 cases of HLB in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties.

Citrus psyllids have been spotted in the San Joaquin Valley and seem to be slowly creeping north, most likely hitchhiking on infected plant material.

The warning from the CFDA: Don’t buy a citrus tree in a quarantined area and move it to an uninfected county.

The Sacramento County Department of Agriculture set out 200 traps in the immediate area of the Lemon Hill find. In the meantime, Sacramento gardeners are asked to keep an eye out for possible psyllid activity.

Examine your citrus trees. The bug can be hard to see, but it leaves a distinctive trail of white waxy discharge that looks like little strings at the end of branches and growth tips on citrus trees.

If you see something, report it to the local or state ag office. Call CDFA’s pest hotline at 800-491-1899 or the Sacramento County agricultural commissioner at 916-875-6603.

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Flowers in My Back Yard Series

Aug. 4: Dianthus a deceptively hardy flower

July 28: Naked Ladies put on summer show

July 21: Thank Luther Burbank for these long-lasting beauties (Shasta daisies)

July 14: How to keep hydrangeas happy

July 7: Grow these bright cosmos for bees and butterflies

June 30: Agapanthus adds blue fireworks to the garden

June 23: Easy-care gazanias fill those hot corners

June 16: Daylilies are perfect for water-wise gardens (and a lot more)

June 9: Grow coneflowers for pollinators -- and yourself

June 2: Sunflowers capture Sacramento's summer attitude

May 29: Are your roses going 'blind'?

May 26: Zinnias are the summer flowers every garden needs

May 19: Plant dahlias now for late-summer flower power

May 12: Know your coreopsis from your bidens

May 5: Mums the word on Mother's Day weekend

April 28: Majestic Matilija poppy is worth a look

April 21: Celebrate roses, America's favorite flower

April 14: Small flowers with outsized impact

April 7: Calendulas do double duty

April 3: Make Easter lilies last for years to come

March 31: In praise of a pollinator magnet (small-leaf salvias)

March 24: Azaleas brighten shady spots

March 17: The perfect flower for beginners? Try zonal geraniums

March 10: Keep camellias happy for years to come

March 3: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy

Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?

Feb. 24: Treasure spring daffodils now and for years to come

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Feb. 10: Let's talk Valentine's Day roses

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Find our summer recipes here!

Garden checklist for week of Aug. 2

Get out early in the morning and monitor your garden’s moisture needs. Deep water and add temporary shade structures for plants that are feeling a little burned. In particular, protect developing peppers and eggplant.

* Put off fertilization until this heat passes; plants need to concentrate on hydration instead of growth.

* Harvest tomatoes, beans, squash, pepper and eggplants to prompt plants to keep producing. Give your plants a deep watering twice a week, more if planted in containers.

* Watch out for caterpillars and hornworms in the vegetable garden. They can strip a plant bare in one day. Pick them off plants by hand in early morning or late afternoon.

* Mulch can be your garden’s best friend – it conserves moisture while blocking out weeds. But don’t let mulch mound around stalks, stems or trunks. That can promote rot.

* Pinch off dead flowers from perennials and annuals to lengthen their summer bloom.

* Pick up after your fruit trees. Clean up debris and dropped fruit; this cuts down on insects and prevents the spread of brown rot.

* Prepare for a fall full of flowers by paying a little extra attention to your garden. Cut off spent blooms from roses, annuals and perennials. Roses will rebloom about six to eight weeks after deadheading.

* Indoors, start seedlings for fall vegetable planting, including bunching onion, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radicchio and lettuce.

* Sow seeds of perennials in pots for fall planting including yarrow, coneflower and salvia.

* In the garden, direct seed beets, carrots, leaf lettuce and turnips. Make sure to keep seeds and seedlings consistently moist.

* Plant potatoes.

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Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series

Lessons learned during a year of edible gardening

WINTER

Is edible gardening possible indoors?

Hints for choosing tomato seeds

Starting in seed starting

Why winter is the perfect time to plant fruit trees

When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants

How to squeeze more food into less space

Potatoes from the garden

Plant a fruit tree now -- for later

Win the weed war by tackling them in winter

Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables

Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space

Ways to win the fight against weeds

FALL

Dec. 16: Add asparagus to your edible garden

Dec. 9: Soggy soil and what to do about it

Dec. 2: Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come

Nov. 25: It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying

Nov. 18: What to do with all those fallen leaves?

Nov. 11: Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden

Nov. 4: Plant a pea patch for you and your garden

Oct. 27: As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers

Oct. 20: Change is in the autumn air 

Oct. 13: We don't talk (enough) about beets

Oct. 6: Fava beans do double duty

Sept. 30: Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?

Sept. 23: How to prolong the fall tomato harvest 

SUMMER

Sept. 16: Time to shut it down? 

Sept. 9: How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch

Sept. 2: Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning

Aug. 26: To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?

Aug. 19: Put worms to work for you

Aug. 12: Grow food while saving water

Aug. 5: Enhance your food with edible flowers

July 29: Why won't my tomatoes turn red?

July 22: A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty

July 15: Does this plant need water?

July 8: Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions

July 1: How to grow summer salad greens

June 24:  Weird stuff that's perfectly normal

SPRING

June 17: Help pollinators help your garden

June 10: Battling early-season tomato pests

June 3: Make your own compost

May 27: Where are the bees when you need them?

May 20: How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days

May 13: Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can

May 6: Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success

April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?

April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)

April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers

April 8: When to plant summer vegetables

April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths

March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth