The HBL’s vector, only 190 km from Huelva
Spreading through Portugal, the Huanglongbing’s vector is already only 190 km away from the first Spanish citrus plantations, in the province of Huelva.
The insect Trioza erytreae, in full expansion by the Atlantic Coast of the Iberian Peninsula since it appeared for the first time in Galicia, in 2014, is just 190 km away from Huelva, second Andalusian province in importance, where there are 19,000 hectares of citrus.
The HBL or Citrus Greening is a serious disease caused by a vector-transmitted bacteria. These vectors are an Asian insect and an African one, the Trioza erytreae.
In June 2017, a Spanish farmers’ organization warned that, according to data from the two audits carried out by the EC, the authorities of Galicia and Portugal “have renounced to eradicate the African insect and are limited to trying to contain its expansion”. The EC inspectors concluded that measures to stop its spread “are not systematically implemented and, in consequence, its spread to pest-free areas is considered inevitable.
The auditors also visited the Valencia Region where they verified that its surveillance plans were working properly, without detecting the insect.
In the Iberian Peninsula there is still no HBL, but considering the severe outbreaks occurred in US, Mexico and Brazil, it is feared that the arrival of the bacteria causing the disease is only a matter of time.
(Source: agrodigital.com)