Citus Plant Dangers los algodones, b.c. Mexico

Travelers: Don't bring fruits or flowers into the U.S.

October 26, 2010 7:18 PM BY JOYCE LOBECK - SUN STAFF WRITER

While it may be tempting to bring lemons and limes or flower arrangements home from other areas, agriculture officials are urging people not to do so.

That's because fruit, plant material and flowers may be carrying some unwanted hitchhikers, a little insect that can carry a disease that is deadly to citrus trees, said Magally Luque-Williams, senior plant pathologist with the California Department of Food and Agriculture, who was in Yuma this week to remind people of the danger.

The insect, the Asian citrus psyllid, already has been found in citrus trees in residential areas in Yuma County. It's also becoming more widespread in various areas of Southern California, including the counties of Imperial, San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles, San Bernadino and parts of Riverside.

So far, none of the trapped insects have tested positive for the citrus greening disease the pest can carry if it picks up the bacteria that causes the disease, Luque-Williams said.

But it's just a matter of time, she said. The disease already has been confirmed in many parts of Mexico and is moving north toward Arizona and California. The disease also has been found in the U.S. in Florida, Louisiana and Georgia.

When a tree becomes infected, production drops, it will bear sour fruit and within a few years it will die. Currently, there is no treatment to save a tree once it is infected.

The principal way the disease and the pest that carries it are spread has been through human activity, Luque-Williams said. In Florida, the principal introduction was through plants being sold commercially that had been infected with the eggs of the Asian citrus psyllid, she noted. The eggs are so small they can't be seen with the naked eye.

“I urge people not to transport any part of the (citrus) plant,” Luque-Williams said. And if they do want to purchase fruit to bring across the border or take from one area to another, make sure it has been certified as pest free, she cautioned.

That goes as well for orange jasmine and floral arrangements that may harbor the Asian citrus psyllid, she said.

The warning comes as many in the Hispanic community are preparing for the upcoming All Souls Day (Día de Los Muertos) holiday Nov. 1-2.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Department of Agriculture are advising the traveling public that certain agricultural items that are used in holiday decorations are prohibited from entry to the U.S. because they can carry the pest and the disease.

Many border community families celebrate Día de los Muertos by constructing altares (altars) to commemorate the lives of loved ones or famous people who have died. A common type of ornamental greenery known as murraya or orange jasmine is sometimes used in the altares. Murraya is a host plant for the Asian citrus psyllid and is therefore prohibited from entry into the U.S.