Citrus greening confirmed for the first time in Arizona, Nogales area quarantined

Effective immediately, the US Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), in cooperation with the Arizona Department of Agriculture (AZDA), is establishing a quarantined area for citrus greening (also known as Huanglongbing or HLB). The alert is caused by Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus detected in Arizona.

The APHIS-established quarantine radius covers approximately nine square miles in the Nogales area of Santa Cruz County. These measures parallel the intrastate quarantine that AZDA established on February 7, 2025.

In a public notice, the government agency said it's taking this action after confirmed detections of citrus greening in plant tissue samples collected from residential properties in Santa Cruz County, which is a first for Arizona. At the time of writing, no commercial citrus is affected by this quarantine.

Preventive measures for greening spread 

APHIS is implementing safeguarding measures outlined in 7 CFR 301.76 and Federal Orders, which entail prohibiting the interstate movement of regulated articles from quarantined areas in Arizona.

Additionally, the directive authorizes inspectors to "stop and inspect persons and means of conveyance and to seize, quarantine, treat, apply other remedial measures to, destroy, or otherwise dispose of host articles."

This action is necessary to prevent the spread of citrus greening to non-infested areas of the United States, the agency said.

Residents of the Nogales area and surrounding counties can check the APHIS Citrus Greening website to stay up to date on changes to the quarantined area in Arizona. The agency will publish a notice of this change in the Federal Register.

*All images are referential and courtesy of the USDA.

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