First report of huanglongbing in El Salvador
In February 2020, the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock declared that El Salvador was in a state of phytosanitary emergency due to the presence of huanglongbing (associated with ‘Candidatus Liberibacter spp. – EPPO A1 List). The bacterial species detected in El Salvador was not specified. It is also noted that in El Salvador, the presence of one of the vectors of huanglongbing, Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Liviidae – EPPO A1 List) was first reported in 2009. According to laboratory records, the first samples testing positive for huanglongbing had been collected in July 2013, from 2 orchards near the border with Guatemala, in the municipality of Ahuachapán (department of Ahuachapán). Legal action is underway to determine why these initial findings were not officially reported earlier. Symptomatic plants were then observed in different orchards and gardens in urban and rural areas in the Western and Central areas of the country. The departments of La Unión and Usulután are currently considered to be free from huanglongbing, and in the department of San Miguel, the disease has only been found in the municipality of Nuevo Edén de San Juan. Eradication measures are being taken, including destruction of infected trees, control of the vector (D. citri), use of certified material, restrictions on the movements of host plants, and communication campaigns.
The situation of huanglongbing (‘Candidatus Liberibacter spp.’) in El Salvador can be described as follows: Present, only in some areas, under eradication.
Sources
INTERNET
Gobierno de El Salvador. Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería (2020-02-19) MAG declara emergencia fitosanitaria nacional por presencia de HLB, enfermedad de los citricos. http://www.mag.gob.sv/mag-declara-emergencia-fitosanitaria-nacional-por-presencia-de-hlb-enfermedad-de-los-citricos/