Detection of Huanglongbing Confirmed on Orange County Inactive Citrus Acreage

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has confirmed the detection of the citrus plant disease Huanglongbing (HLB) in inactive citrus acreage in the city of Yorba Linda, Orange County. The detections mark the first time HLB has been confirmed in plant samples on non-residential, non-nursery citrus acreage. The detection site, which is not currently operational or being cultivated for commercial sale, is owned by the Orange County Flood Control District and was previously contracted with a third party to manage the property.

On Oct. 21, lab results confirmed the presence of 53 HLB-positive trees on the Yorba Linda property. The detections will not expand the existing HLB quarantine area currently in place in Orange County. The Orange County Flood Control District has conducted treatment on the property and all HLB-positive trees have been removed.

CDFA staff is surveying and sampling all citrus trees within a 250-meter radius around the detection site and a treatment program for residential citrus trees within 250-meters of the find site is being coordinated to reduce any existing ACP populations. No operational commercial citrus properties, production nurseries or packinghouses are located within a 250-meter radius around the detection site.

Currently, HLB quarantines have been established in portions of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties, where more than 8,900 trees have tested positive for the disease and have been removed. HLB quarantine maps are available online at: www.cdfa.ca.gov/citrus/pests_diseases/hlb/regulation.