Growers in Kern County should be on high alert due to an Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) breeding population that was found this month across five rural residential sites in Maricopa. This is the first detection of a breeding population in Kern County this year. Additionally, traps were found each with a single ACP in two commercial groves. All growers should stay vigilant for signs of the pest, inspect their trees regularly and follow treatment recommendations.
The residential detections were discovered southeast of Maricopa. All of the citrus trees on these rural properties were treated quickly after discovery, and commercial growers closest to these residences were notified.
All growers within 800 meters of the adult ACP commercial grove detections have been notified and are making a foliar treatment. One detection was found in a trap along the border of one of the closest commercial citrus blocks to the rural residential detections. The other was found in a commercial citrus grove along the border of a block near Interstate 5 and south of Highway 166.
There have been ACP detections on 23 sites in Kern County this year, 11 of which were found on traps from late 2017.
The best way to prevent the deadly spread of Huanglongbing to Kern County’s commercial citrus groves is to remain vigilant for the pest. If you see suspect ACP is in your citrus, please notify the California Department of Food and Agriculture Pest Hotline at 1-800-491-1899.
For questions, contact Kern County’s grower liaison Judy Zaninovich at jsleslie@msn.com
or 559-730-8691 or the Kern County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office at 661-868-6300.