TX Citrus Under Fruit Fly Attack

With your Southeast Regional Ag News, I am Haylie Shipp. This is the Ag Information Network.

We’re talking citrus on today’s program, but not citrus in the southeast. It’s Texas with the spotlight.

South Texas citrus is reportedly under attack and USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is asking residents for their help. So what is going on?

Well, according to APHIS, Texas citrus in the Lower Rio Grande Valley is at risk of being infested by invasive and damaging fruit flies. The agency alongside the Texas Department of Agriculture is inspecting and surveying fruit trees in residential yards and commercial properties to check for signs of invasive plant pests and to protect the food supply and agricultural economy.

The main threat this season is an invasive fruit fly that is native to Mexico and Central America. While this fruit fly is harmless to people and pets, it feeds on more than 40 kinds of fruits and vegetables.

To prevent fruit fly populations from becoming established or spreading within the United States, APHIS cooperates with state partners to carry out fruit fly control programs and maintains a sensitive fruit fly detection network of more than 160,000 traps across four states and one territory: California, Florida, New York, Texas, and Puerto Rico.