Citrus Pest Quarantine Spreads To Merced
July 19, 2016 | 1 min to read
MERCED – State officials Thursday announced a quarantine in the Merced and Atwater areas for the Asian citrus psyllid, a threat to backyard and commercial trees.
The move followed the detection of a single psyllid in the city of Merced, the California Department of Food and Agriculture reported. It bars people from moving oranges, lemons and other citrus fruit out of the zone unless they remove the leaves and stems. Nursery plants also are restricted.
The announcement came a few days after the Modesto area was quarantined. Other zones include one around Oakdale, another from Keyes to north Delhi, and three around Manteca, Tracy and Lodi.