DATE: June 03, 2009
CONTACT:
Christel Harden, 864-506-5386 (c)
charden@clemson.edu
WRITER:
Peter Kent, 864-656-4355, 864-723-0491 (c)
pkent@clemson.edu
Plant-disease inspectors to go door-to-door in Beaufort, Colleton area
CLEMSON — Clemson University and USDA officials will begin conducting a house-to-house search for a harmful plant disease June 9 in the Beaufort area. Searchers will be looking for citrus plants with citrus-greening disease. The disease poses a serious threat to the citrus industry nationwide. The public’s assistance is needed in finding citrus plants in backyards in the area.
Clemson University plant industry department personnel and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Plant Protection and Quarantine inspectors from South Carolina and Florida will conduct the survey for citrus greening disease (Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus), also called Huanglongbing.
Surveys will begin Tuesday and last for two to four weeks. Inspectors will cover the city of Beaufort and Beaufort and Colleton counties. Personnel will be going door to door because most citrus in South Carolina is grown in residential settings. Surveyors will contact homeowners in the targeted areas, beginning with the city of Beaufort.
Surveyors will carry photo identification and credentials from their agencies.
The purpose of the survey is to determine the extent that citrus greening exists in South Carolina. It is a significant threat to citrus plants. However, there is no risk to people. The fruit from diseased plants is safe to eat but may be unappealing.
Officials ask the public’s help in locating citrus plants. It is vital to determine if the citrus greening disease is present in Beaufort and Colleton counties to prevent it from reaching citrus-producing states, such as Arizona, California and Texas. Beaufort and Colleton counties are included in the survey because the insect for citrus greening was detected in those counties last summer. However, as of May this year the disease has been detected only in Charleston.
It is not always possible to detect diseased plants by sight, as symptoms may be difficult to identify. Residents can contact the USDA at 843-746-2950.
For more information about citrus greening, go to the USDA Web site: www.SaveOurCitrus.org or refer to this article.
State plant industry officials have set up a Web page on which people can report suspected citrus greening. The Web site is http://www.clemson.edu/public/regulatory/plant_industry/invasive_exotic_programs/.
In Beaufort, contact Clemson extension agent Laura Lee Rose at 843-470-3655, ext. 117, for more information. In Clemson, contact Christel F. Harden of the plant industry department at 864-506-5386.
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