The Texas citrus industry is currently combating the destructive disease known as citrus greening, as the disease has taken a stronghold in both commercial and residential citrus plants in the Rio Grande Valley. Hidalgo, Cameron and Harris counties are under quarantine for citrus greening, which is primarily a disease of the tree but it can also have a devastating effect on the crop itself. The fruit from infected trees poses no risk to human health.

Citrus greening was first detected in Texas in January 2012. A small number of trees were found to be infected with the disease. In 2014, the nature and prevalence of citrus greening disease changed, with the discovery of 430 infected trees in commercial groves and 207 infected trees in residential backyards.

“The question weighing heavily on the minds of growers and many others in South Texas is whether Texas can avoid a catastrophic situation for our citrus industry, which wasn’t the case for our eastern neighbors in Florida,” Ray Prewett, president of Texas Citrus Mutual, said in a press release.

Recent detections are not only being found in more commercial groves and residential areas, but some areas have a large number of infected trees, with more than 50 trees testing positive for the disease in a single block of citrus. The area most infected by the disease is located in the mid-valley region.

“It is simply too early to know how the situation will unfold,” Prewett said in the release. “However, we know that all Texans, from commercial growers to nursery owners to homeowners, must continue to be aggressive in their efforts to slow the spread of the disease.”

The state legislature established the Texas Citrus Pest & Disease Management Corp. to help fight citrus greening in Texas. CPDMC has developed a set of best management practices for controlling the Asian citrus psyllid, the pest that infects citrus trees and causes citrus greening.

Additionally, the Texas Department of Agriculture has issued regulations requiring all citrus trees in the 10 county citrus zone to be produced in an enclosed, certified structure. This will help prevent the disease from entering and infecting nursery plants.

Texas Citrus Mutual and the Texas Citrus Pest & Disease Management Corporation are working with Rio Grande Valley residents, commercial producers and sellers to aggressively combat citrus greening through the following practices: integrated pest management, including the use of pesticides and bio-control agents; reduction of citrus greening bacteria, which requires removing infected trees; and working with growers and homeowners to plant citrus nursery stock that is free of citrus greening and other diseases.