AZRFG May 19th Meeting:
Asian Citrus Psyllid and Citrus Greening
(An UPDATE for Arizona and California)

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!!!    DATE and ROOM CHANGE ALERT    !!!

Due to an urgent change in speaker travel schedules, we ask your understanding and apologize for this inconvenience.

* Meeting DATE has moved to Thursday, May 19th at 7:00pm
* Meeting ROOM has moved to the MCC Library LB-145 meeting room

Important note to all who are unable to attend: All presentations will be video-recorded and posted online. Please complete the RSVP form to be notified when the video is available!

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The bug:   Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP)
The disease:   Huanglongbing (HLB)
"Citrus Greening"

Arizona’s citrus industry predates statehood by decades.  The sun and soil are perfect for growing oranges, tangerines, lemons and grapefruit.  Citrus is one of the state’s iconic 5 Cs:  Citrus, Cotton, Climate, Cattle and Copper.

Arizonan’s beautiful backyard citrus and the citrus industry are threatened by a tiny pest that can spread a fatal disease.  The Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP) came to North America from Asian and has spread throughout citrus producing states at an alarming rate.  The citrus industry in Florida and Texas has been hit hard by the disease costing more than a billion dollars and thousands of jobs, and countless, beautiful trees. 

Parts of Arizona are under quarantine (new updates from our speakers to be announced!) while the state watches vigilantly for increased activity.  ACP has been found in people’s backyards, along public roads and commercial groves.

The Psyllid poses a threat because it is the carrier (vector) for a disease that kills citrus trees.  The bacteria is commonly known as Citrus Greening, but officially it is Huanglongbing.  Once a tree is infected, the fruit becomes misshapen and bitter; the tree usually dies in a few years.

To help protect citrus across the state, backyards and commercial groves alike, please join the Arizona Rare Fruit Growers to learn more about this devastating disease, the regulatory and research efforts underway to control and prevent it's spread, and best practices that we can all follow in our own yards and in helping educate others around the Valley and our state.

Thanks to the coordination of Dr Glenn Wright (Associate Professor, Univ of Arizona and the Yuma Ag Center, and AZRFG member), we welcome a wonderful panel of experts who are on the frontline waging the battle against Citrus Greening.

We'd also like to express our appreciation to each speaker for their permission to video this night of presentations for our continued reference, and especially for the benefit of others unable to attend due to his late change of date for our meeting.

 

1. ACP/HLB Status in AZ and Future Regulatory Direction - Mr. John Caravetta, Director, Plant Services Division, Arizona Department of Agriculture, Phoenix, AZ
   
2. The Federal Perspective of a Statewide Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP) Quarantine – Mr. Jerry Levitt, State Plant Health Director for Arizona and New Mexico, USDA-APHIS-PPQ
   
3. The ACP and HLB situation in California – Ms. Victoria Hornbaker, Citrus Program Manager, Plant Health Division, California Department of Food and Agriculture
   
4. Citrus Greening in Florida and in Texas.  Dr. Glenn Wright, Associate Professor and Extension Specialist, University of Arizona, Yuma Agricultural Center, Yuma, AZ

 
Help us spread the word about Citrus Greening, and how NOT to spread the disease. As Rare Fruit Growing Enthusiasts, we see the great value in helping educate the public in order to protect our investments, our economy and to ensure us all that citrus will continue to be a part of our culture long into the future.

RSVP Now!