A citrus disease that has killed millions of citrus trees across Florida, Brazil and other parts of the world has been detected in Southern California, despite the citrus industry’s best efforts to keep it away. The California Department of Food and Agriculture announced Friday that huanglongbing — also known as “citrus greening” and “HLB” — has been discovered in a single, fused lemon/pummelo tree in a residential neighborhood in the city of Hacienda Heights, east of Los Angeles. In addition, an Asian citrus psyllid caught in an insect trap in the area was found to also be infected with HLB. The gnat-sized, flying insects are the only known carriers of HLB, becoming infected when they feed on the leaves and branches of infected trees and spreading it when they feed on healthy trees. There is no cure for HLB, a bacterial disease that attacks the vascular systems of all types of citrus trees, ruins their fruit and kills them over two or more years.
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Courtesy of Lee Whistler, Realtor for Century 21 M&M Clovis
