Protecting citrus a top priority
The Tulare County Board of Supervisors met Tuesday night in Porterville and put more than words behind the battle against the Asian citrus psyllid and Huanglongbing (HLB) or citrus greening disease.
Over the past year, the board has held a night meeting in each of the five districts.
It was good to see the board commit $250,000 to a program that would remove infected citrus trees in the county from backyards or commercial properties.
Tom Tucker, Assistant Agricultural Commissioner/sealer gave a presentation on the worst disease known to the citrus industry, HLB also known as citrus greening disease.
Tucker stressed the important role the citrus industry plays in the county and why the disease with no known cure poses a threat to the local economy. Tulare County is the number one citrus growing county in California with 75 packing sheds and processing facilities. The annual production value of citrus in Tulare County is $1.3 billion according to the 2016 Annual Tulare County Crop and Livestock Report.
To date, there have been more than 750 ACP finds in Tulare County alone posing a bigger threat to citrus acreage totaling more than 132,000 in the county. The only method to control spread is removal of infected trees. The proclamation reaffirms the authorization already provided under the California Food and Ag Code given to the Agricultural Commissioner to order the removal of trees, if necessary, to destroy or control the pest.
We too agree, and suspect the board does as well, but they are limited in the funds they can allocate, with local growers who said $250,000 is not enough.
Everyone in the room last night and others that follow the citrus industry know it is not a matter of if HLB will show up in Tulare County, but rather when.
Still, we need to continue to be proactive and take every precaution in protecting the county’s $1.3 billion commodity.