Monday, June 22, 2009

Georgia under federal quarantine for citrus greening

Georgia has been put under a federal quarantine to help prevent the spread of a devastating citrus disease. The quarantine follows the discovery in Georgia of "citrus greening" (CG), a disease that causes citrus fruit to be bitter and unusable. The disease is also known as Huanglongbing or HLB and is caused by the bacterial pathogen Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus. The disease was found on a lemon tree in Savannah. More details can be found at the Georgia Department of Agriculture and USDA APHIS Plant Protection and Quarrentine.