Officials identify citrus disease symptoms and in Imperial County

CALEXICO, Calif. (KYMA) - Imperial County officials confirmed the first local case of huanglongbing (HLB), a destructive bacterial citrus disease, following a state-verified sample in late July.

Assistant Agricultural Commissioner Rachel Garewal and Deputy Nelson Perez explain that the disease causes asymmetrical yellowing of leaves and poor fruit development.

"It's going to be an asymmetrical yellowing or an asymmetrical modeling of across the leaves," Garewal said. "Later symptoms are going to be kind of just general yellowing, like all of the new shoots are going to come out yellow. You're going to get thickened veins, irregularly shaped fruit. The fruit will be kind of asymmetrical."

Perez said that they are surveying a two-mile buffer zone near the Mexican border to monitor for infected trees.

"We survey two miles from the border with Mexico, two miles into the U.S., and we check all the sites that have citrus hosts," he said.

"I would say that we're somewhat surrounded by the disease and by insects too. I would say Mexico has had it in the past. Some of the other counties around us have HLB and HCP. San Diego and LA, Orange, Riverside, all those counties around us have it," Perez said.

To prevent further spread, authorities are implementing a 250-meter survey radius around the infected site while urging residents to manage the Asian citrus psyllid insect.

The state CDFA will be coming around and doing treatments in the Calexico area soon. But if a homeowner wanted to do their own  insecticidal treatments, they could do so as long as they were doing so safely with products that they purchased legally.