Last week, FreshFruitPortal.com reported that South Africa’s Citrus Research International (CRI) had confirmed the presence of Asian Citrus Greening (HLB) in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape. This was incorrect, as HLB does not occur in South Africa.

As correctly reported by The Herald, the disease African Citrus Greening was detected near Gqeberha. However, other media channels falsely spread the news that HLB and not African Citrus Greening had been identified. 

African Citrus Greening is caused by an entirely different species of bacteria and is not nearly as damaging as HLB.

The “alarmist reactions and misrepresentation of facts were started by a reefer information news snippet erroneously headlined 'Yellow Dragon lands in Eastern Cape. Huanglongbing, or citrus greening disease, has been identified in residential areas in the South African port city of Gqeberha'", the Citrus Growers’ Association of South Africa (CGSA) told FreshFruitPortal.com.

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African Citrus Greening has been reported in South Africa since 1932. This greening is under official control by preventing the movement of propagation material from greening areas to greening-free areas. 

This greening cannot be spread by fruit or seed and there is no restriction on the movement of citrus fruit. This applies worldwide, CGSA emphasized.

To date, the Eastern Cape province is greening-free. The recent findings in Gqeberha will require further delimitation surveys and control measures to prevent the spread to commercial citrus production areas successfully.