Officials say traces of a citrus disease have been confirmed in South Texas nearly 70 years after it was eradicated.
The Brownsville Herald (http://bit.ly/1RUBitX ) reports citrus canker, a bacterial disease destructive to citrus crops, was discovered on a lime tree at a Rancho Viejo residence on Oct. 16. Officials say the disease can be spread by high winds and rain and causes deformed, inedible fruit.
Yindra Dixon of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said on Oct. 23 that the disease was confirmed after a sample of the tree had been sent for testing.
Dixon says a one-mile radius has been established from the infected area, where about 40 surveyors have been inspecting as many citrus trees as possible since last week.