The Arizona Department of Agriculture has extended the state’s citrus quarantine to parts of Maricopa County. Officials hope the move with slow the spread of the Asian Citrus Psyllid, a bug that can carry a fatal citrus tree disease.
John Caravetta is the organization’s plant services associate director. He said while Arizona has not yet been impacted by what’s known as Citrus Greening Disease, it is a big problem for industries in Texas and Florida.
"This insect, in particular, is very good at moving across these barriers that we would think that the desert would be enough to keep it from moving, and that’s been proven to not be the case," Caravetta said.
The state quarantine, which now covers more than 22,000 square miles in Arizona, restricts the movement of uncertified fruit, leaves and plants. It also requires treatment of any commercial citrus groves or nurseries where the disease has been detected.
