AZED-In 2009, the discovery of the Asian Citrus Psyllid in Yuma County led to a quarantine of residential and commercial citrus growers.
The Asian Citrus Psyllid, is a small insect that can carry a devastating disease to the state’s $37.2 million citrus industry.
The quarantine which was ordered in Yuma, La Paz and Santa Cruz counties has now been stretched to a small portion of Maricopa County.
Many methods have been used to help stop the spread of the pest but now the United States Department of Agriculture is using a bio-control method to help reduce populations of the pest.
KAWC’s Stephanie Sanchez tells us about a wasp from Pakistan that could hold the line on a disease that is killing American citrus trees by targeting the inspect that carries it. We’ll go along with officials as they release the wasp into local trees to fight Asian Citrus Psyllid.
