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Ag officials find bug that carries citrus disease

Lakeland Ledger – August 30, 2008

Agricultural officials are trying to confirm the discovery in San Diego of a pest that could infect and destroy entire groves of citrus.

Officials said Friday that an Asian citrus psyllid was found in a trap about 11 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border.

The tiny psyllid is the only carrier of the “citrus greening” disease, though not all psyllids are infected. The disease yellows leaves, stops fruit from ripening and eventually kills trees.

Psyllids arrived in Florida in 1998 and have since been found in at least six other states.

Federal officials will quarantine the area in San Diego if the bug’s identification is confirmed. In the meantime, state inspectors will restrict nurseries within five miles of where the bug was found from moving plants.

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