Asian citrus psyllid confirmed in Arizona

A story in the Yuma Sun reported the confirmation this week.
The find was confirmed Wednesday by John Caravetta, associate director of the Arizona Department of Agriculture. He said the insect was found Tuesday in an area about a half-mile from the Mexican border and approximately 1-1/2 miles from where the pest was found last summer in San Luis Rio Colorado, Son.
Arizona agriculture officials have been looking for the psyllid in the state for several years, Caravetta said. Efforts were stepped up in Yuma County with the find of the psyllid near the border last summer with additional funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services.
With the discovery of the pest in San Luis, Ariz., the search for the psyllid in that community will be intensified through additional placement and monitoring of sticky traps and visual inspections by crews, Caravetta said.
"We are intensifying our efforts looking for it," he said. "We want to determine where the infestation might be, then target that area for treatment and put a buffer around it."
Caravetta said the find of the insect is the first in Arizona. "We're the last citrus-producing state in the U.S. to detect it."