The Asian Citrus Psyllid that has been detected in Cabazon, Banning and Beaumont was first noticed in Southern California in 2008, but the citrus-killing disease it can spread, Huanglongbing, has yet to be detected anywhere in the state.

The sites where the Asian Citrus Psyllid has been detected in the San Gorgonio Pass are all residential, Debby Tanouye, state branch chief of pest detection/emergency projects, said in an interview at a Jan. 31 public meeting in Banning council chambers.

The state Department of Food and Agriculture last week announced expansion of an emergency program to eradicate the pest in the San Gorgonio Pass.

Huanglongbing is "the most devastating disease to citrus in the world," Food and Agriculture officials warned in January.

State scientists hope to wipe out the pest in the Pass by spraying and soil saturation with synthetic insecticides, Dr. Bryan Eya, state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment said Tuesday night.

There is no quarantine on citrus in the Pass, and treated fruit is safe to eat after washing, Tanouye said, but she warned residents against transporting any citrus cuttings, plants or trees.

The Asian Citrus Psyllid was first detected in the United States in 1998 - in Florida, according to the University of California. Huanglongbing was first detected in the United States in 2005 - again in Florida.

The nearest location to California where the disease has been detected is Yucatan, Mexico, Lawrence E. Hawkins of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said Wednesday.

The disease Haunglongbing is currently considered an active threat in Florida, Georgia, portions of South Carolina and Louisiana, and as of last week, Hidalgo County in the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas, where quarantines are in effect, Hawkins said.

The disease so far has not been detected in California, but the mere presence of the Asian Citrus Psyllid is a concern because the state's $1.8 billion citrus industry and countless backyard fruit trees could be affected.

"If the ACP begins to transmit the disease HLB, the entire industry could be at risk," the California Department of Food and Agriculture states in a fact sheet. "In one recent study in Florida, the presence of HLB increased citrus production costs by 40 percent."

A pdf copy of the state map that shows eight detection sites in the San Gorgonio Pass is attached to this report.

In the map's legend of terms, "detection site" is defined as a spot where the Asian Citrus Psyllid has "already been detected," Steve Lyle of the California Department of Food and Agriculture said last week.

For more information about the Asian Citrus Psyllid and the disease Huanglongbing, visit the Department of Food and Agriculture's ACP site.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture lists the following contacts for Asian Citrus Psyllid reports and questions:

Report A Pest Hotline: 1 (800) 491-1899

Eradication Information: 1 (800) 491-1899

Quarantine Information: (916) 654-0312

Pest Detection / Emergency Projects: (916) 654-1211