Moving citrus trees from a quarantine zone into an area not under quarantine is the fastest way that citrus diseases are spread. There are four serious citrus diseases found in the United States include Huanglongbing (also known as citrus greening or HLB for short), citrus canker, citrus black spot, and sweet orange scab.  Our Gulf coast counties are quarantined for three out of the four. Learn more about each disease by visiting the Citrus Survey Program page on the Alabama Department of Agriculture website.  Without proper biosecurity practices in place, when infected trees, fruit, clippings, equipment or even workers are moved to a new area, the disease comes with them. It is not just commercial citrus that is susceptible to these diseases. Homegrown citrus trees can easily become infected and spread disease.

Yes, you can but where they come from is another matter.  Trees imported into Alabama must come from a source that has produced those trees in a certified USDA-APHIS facility or purchased from an Alabama nursery within the same quarantine area you live in.  Homeowner citrus trees are still subject to regular inspections by ADAI.

The end purpose for the citrus trees doesn’t matter.  Trees that have been exposed to disease and pest pose a risk to Alabama’s citrus industry and to the many homeowners with citrus trees. It is also a risk to your investment.  The proper operation of a citrus grove can be expensive, and an outbreak of a citrus disease can result in your entire grove being condemned and destroyed. Therefore, buying your citrus from a clean source is not only practical business sense, it a state requirement.

For the same reason that you cannot move citrus from one quarantine area in Alabama to a non-quarantine area in Alabama.  Both states are recognized as citrus producing states and can only import citrus trees that have been grown in USDA-APHIS approved structures from certified clean stock. Producing citrus trees for interstate commerce is very expensive and citrus trees grown in the majority of the nurseries found in these states, do not meet the criteria for interstate commerce, therefore it is illegal to move or transport citrus from one citrus producing state to another citrus producing state if that nursery does not meet the strict USDA Citrus Nursery Stock Protocol.  There is no distinction between a commercial entity transporting the trees or a homeowner.

Different parts of Alabama are under different citrus quarantines.  It is illegal to move trees out of a quarantine area into an area not under the same quarantine.

You can purchase your citrus from an approved citrus nursery that is certified to import citrus into Alabama or you can purchase your citrus from an Alabama nursery that is in the same citrus quarantine area as the one you live in. You can view the Citrus quarantine maps found on the citrus page on the Plant Protection website.  Basically, if you live in any one of Alabama’s 67 counties, you can purchase citrus from any nursery in any of those counties except for Baldwin or Mobile counties.  Nurseries in Mobile may only sell citrus to residence in Mobile and Baldwin counties while nurseries in Baldwin may only sell to those that live in Baldwin.  There is one noted exception.  One Baldwin County nursery has a USDA-APHIS approved screen house that permits them to export out of Baldwin County.  Your safest bet is to buy your citrus from a trusted local nursery or Garden Center in your area.  If you wish to purchase citrus from out of state, the nursery you buy from must have a USDA-APHIS approved facility and follow USDA Citrus Nursery Stock Protocol.  Those nurseries are always changing so you will need to inquire about their status before you purchase your citrus trees.

The devastating citrus disease, Citrus Canker, was only a problem in the southern part Florida in 1995. In 2004 four hurricanes swept through the state and when it was over, citrus canker was found in nearly every corner of Florida. While other citrus diseases are spread by pest, Citrus Canker is driven by wind and rain. Research has shown that the disease from one area was found over 50 miles away after a storm passed over the area. If a citrus tree was exposed to a citrus disease, then was purchased and moved before it showed signs of the disease, it could potentially threaten unexposed trees, miles away before anyone suspected there was a problem.