Federal and state plant health officials have confirmed citrus greening disease, also known as Huanglongbing (HLB), has been detected in Alabama for the first time. 

The development comes despite biannual surveys for the Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus pathogen by the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries (ADAI).

The ADAI, along with the USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection (CBP), will be conducting a delimiting survey to determine the extent that the pathogen may have spread.

If the disease is limited to only a few trees, steps will be taken to eradicate the disease. 

Citrus greening was found in leaf and insect samples from a residential property on Dauphin Island in Mobile County.

ADAI said its officials had devised a plan of action. Surveillance teams are due to take additional samples for testing, survey the area around the site and try to gather data on the tree’s history.

The delimiting survey will begin June 26 and should conclude by the end of the week. The citrus survey set to take place that week in the Wiregrass region will be postponed until the week of July 10.

Outreach and education to nurseries, plant dealers, and citrus hobbyists will also be conducted concerning citrus greening in the near future as well.  

In neighboring Florida, the citrus industry has been significantly affected by the rapid spread of citrus greening. 

According to a study conducted by University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension, since the first detection of citrus greening in Florida in 2005, orange acreage has been reduced by 26% and yield has decreased by 42%.

Orange production dropped from 242 million boxes to 104.6 million boxes in 2014. Overall the impact on the citrus industry has been devastating. 

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