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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Texas Quarantines Against Out-of-State Diseases and Pests
« on: October 27, 2025, 08:18:41 PM »
For the folks in Texas here are the details about their recent plant quarantine:
The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) adopts an establishment of emergency
quarantine pursuant to Texas Agriculture Code, Chapter 71, Subchapter B (Quarantines
Against Out-of-State Diseases and Pests), Section 71.004, which authorizes the TDA to
establish an emergency quarantine without notice and public hearing when a public
emergency exists involving the likelihood of introduction or dissemination of a dangerous
insect pest threatening horticulture and agriculture in the state. This action is taken in
response to the recent detection and spread of the two-spotted cotton leafhopper (also
known as cotton jassid), Amrasca biguttula (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Typhlocybinae), an
invasive pest causing significant damage to cotton crops and several other related crops in
the southeastern U.S. states. This insect is native to Asia and has been recently identified
in U.S.
023 April: First detection in Puerto Rico on cotton *first official record in the Western
Hemisphere*. First detection at a private nursery in Juana Díaz, Rio Cañas Abajo, PR,
on different types of cotton lines.
2023 May: Detection on eggplant and wild cotton in Santa Isabel, Boca Velázquez,
Puerto Rico.
2024 November: First detection in Florida (Miami-Dade County on okra)
*first record in continental United States* . Subsequent positive finds in Florida
reported in more than 40 counties by September 2025.
2025 July: First detection in Georgia (Seminole County on okra). As of August 29, 2025,
positives reported in 57 Georgia counties.
2025 July: First detection in Alabama (Henry County on cotton). As of August 28, 2025,
positive detections in 17 Alabama counties.
2025 August: First detection in South Carolina (Charleston County, across multiple
farms on okra, eggplant, sunflower, pigweed, and smartweed). As of August 12, 2025
Clemson University reported this insect now appears to be widely distributed and
established throughout (at least) the lower half of South Carolina.
August 26, 2025: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension reported detection on hibiscus at Home
Depot and Lowe’s retail stores in North and South Louisiana.
August 28, 2025: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension reported detection on retail hibiscus in
the following Texas locations: College Station, McAllen, Weslaco, Harlingen, Victoria,
Cedar Park, Waco, El Paso, and Longview.
August 28, 2025: TDA began conducting market blitz inspections of retail box stores
throughout the state.August 29, 2025: Texas Nursery and Landscape Association (TNLA) posted an industry
update reporting that Amrasca biguttula “…has recently been detected in Texas, traced
to hibiscus shipments from out-of-state. This pest is already appearing in retail
environments and poses a serious risk to ornamental plants and crops.”
September 8, 2025: TDA announced in a press release immediate action in response to
the detection of two-spotted leafhopper (Amrasca biguttula), on hibiscus plants
shipped into Texas from Costa Farms and its subsidiaries in Florida.
As of September 22, 2025, TDA has conducted more than 400 inspections at nurseries
in the state. Approximately 26 suspected samples have been collected during these
inspections and were submitted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for
identification. Two samples have been reported positive, one negative and one
inconclusive due to shipment damage to the specimen. TDA is continuing routine
nursery floral and quarantine inspections with special vigilance for the concerned pest.
Infested hibiscus plants have been found at big box retail outlets and nurseries in Florida,
Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Texas,
raising concerns about spread through commercial plant movement. The pest poses an
imminent threat to Texas cotton production, a critical agricultural sector valued at over
$1.5 billion annually, due to its rapid reproduction and potential for "hopperburn" damage
leading to yield losses up to 50% in infested fields.
The department believes it is necessary to take immediate action to prevent the artificial
spread of the two-spotted leafhopper into Texas. The establishment of quarantine areas on
a temporary basis is both necessary and appropriate in order to effectively contain, combat
and eradicate all infestations of two-spotted leafhopper. The Texas nursery floral and
cotton industry producers chances of becoming infested increase significantly without this
emergency quarantine. Once infested, producers would have to bear the treatment
expense to ship regulated articles to non-infested areas of Texas and other states.
Effective Date: This quarantine takes effect immediately upon the date of publication of
emergency quarantine, and remains in force until rescinded or modified by TDA following
assessment of pest distribution and control measures.
Pest Description:
The two-spotted cotton leafhopper (Amrasca biguttula) is a small (3-4 mm), pale green
insect with yellowish-green wings marked by two distinct black spots on the head andforewings (spots may fade in older adults). Nymphs are wingless, pale green, and highly
mobile. Adults and nymphs feed on plant sap from the undersides of leaves, injecting
toxins that cause "hopperburn"—initial yellowing at leaf tips and margins, upward
curling/cupping of leaves, followed by rapid reddening, browning, and necrosis. Severe
infestations lead to defoliation, stunted growth, and reduced boll set in cotton, mimicking
nutrient deficiencies or spider mite damage The pest has multiple generations per year (up
to 20-30 in warm climates), with eggs laid in leaf tissues and a life cycle of 7-14 days under
Texas summer conditions.
Regulated Articles: All living hostable nursery plants and articles capable of harboring or
disseminating the two-spotted cotton leafhopper are regulated, such as any container,
equipment, or container media or soil associated with the hostable plants.
Quarantined Areas:
All counties in Texas with confirmed detections of the two-spotted cotton leafhopper as of
September 1, 2025 based on current inspections and surveys. TDA will maintain an
updated list of quarantined areas on the TDA Plant Quality website
(texasagriculture.gov/Regulatory-Programs/Plant-Quality/Quarantines).
Movement into Texas from infested areas outside the state; southeastern states like
Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina is
prohibited. unless the following conditions for movement are met:
Conditions for Movement:
1. Certification: Accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by an authorized
official from the state/country of origin, confirming the articles are free of the pest
based on visual inspection or treatment. Certificate must include origin,
destination, commodity, and pest-free declaration.
Treatment: Articles must be treated in accordance with TDA-approved methods or
USDA approved treatments, such as:
a. Insecticidal dip or spray using EPA-registered products effective against
leafhoppers
Exemption: Shipments for scientific, research, or immediate processing purposes
may be allowed with prior TDA and/or USDA approval and under containment
protocols.
2. 3. Movement violations are subject to Texas Agriculture Code penalties, including fines up
to $4,000 per violation, seizure, destruction of articles at owner's expense, and
potential criminal charges.
The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) adopts an establishment of emergency
quarantine pursuant to Texas Agriculture Code, Chapter 71, Subchapter B (Quarantines
Against Out-of-State Diseases and Pests), Section 71.004, which authorizes the TDA to
establish an emergency quarantine without notice and public hearing when a public
emergency exists involving the likelihood of introduction or dissemination of a dangerous
insect pest threatening horticulture and agriculture in the state. This action is taken in
response to the recent detection and spread of the two-spotted cotton leafhopper (also
known as cotton jassid), Amrasca biguttula (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Typhlocybinae), an
invasive pest causing significant damage to cotton crops and several other related crops in
the southeastern U.S. states. This insect is native to Asia and has been recently identified
in U.S.
023 April: First detection in Puerto Rico on cotton *first official record in the Western
Hemisphere*. First detection at a private nursery in Juana Díaz, Rio Cañas Abajo, PR,
on different types of cotton lines.
2023 May: Detection on eggplant and wild cotton in Santa Isabel, Boca Velázquez,
Puerto Rico.
2024 November: First detection in Florida (Miami-Dade County on okra)
*first record in continental United States* . Subsequent positive finds in Florida
reported in more than 40 counties by September 2025.
2025 July: First detection in Georgia (Seminole County on okra). As of August 29, 2025,
positives reported in 57 Georgia counties.
2025 July: First detection in Alabama (Henry County on cotton). As of August 28, 2025,
positive detections in 17 Alabama counties.
2025 August: First detection in South Carolina (Charleston County, across multiple
farms on okra, eggplant, sunflower, pigweed, and smartweed). As of August 12, 2025
Clemson University reported this insect now appears to be widely distributed and
established throughout (at least) the lower half of South Carolina.
August 26, 2025: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension reported detection on hibiscus at Home
Depot and Lowe’s retail stores in North and South Louisiana.
August 28, 2025: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension reported detection on retail hibiscus in
the following Texas locations: College Station, McAllen, Weslaco, Harlingen, Victoria,
Cedar Park, Waco, El Paso, and Longview.
August 28, 2025: TDA began conducting market blitz inspections of retail box stores
throughout the state.August 29, 2025: Texas Nursery and Landscape Association (TNLA) posted an industry
update reporting that Amrasca biguttula “…has recently been detected in Texas, traced
to hibiscus shipments from out-of-state. This pest is already appearing in retail
environments and poses a serious risk to ornamental plants and crops.”
September 8, 2025: TDA announced in a press release immediate action in response to
the detection of two-spotted leafhopper (Amrasca biguttula), on hibiscus plants
shipped into Texas from Costa Farms and its subsidiaries in Florida.
As of September 22, 2025, TDA has conducted more than 400 inspections at nurseries
in the state. Approximately 26 suspected samples have been collected during these
inspections and were submitted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for
identification. Two samples have been reported positive, one negative and one
inconclusive due to shipment damage to the specimen. TDA is continuing routine
nursery floral and quarantine inspections with special vigilance for the concerned pest.
Infested hibiscus plants have been found at big box retail outlets and nurseries in Florida,
Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Texas,
raising concerns about spread through commercial plant movement. The pest poses an
imminent threat to Texas cotton production, a critical agricultural sector valued at over
$1.5 billion annually, due to its rapid reproduction and potential for "hopperburn" damage
leading to yield losses up to 50% in infested fields.
The department believes it is necessary to take immediate action to prevent the artificial
spread of the two-spotted leafhopper into Texas. The establishment of quarantine areas on
a temporary basis is both necessary and appropriate in order to effectively contain, combat
and eradicate all infestations of two-spotted leafhopper. The Texas nursery floral and
cotton industry producers chances of becoming infested increase significantly without this
emergency quarantine. Once infested, producers would have to bear the treatment
expense to ship regulated articles to non-infested areas of Texas and other states.
Effective Date: This quarantine takes effect immediately upon the date of publication of
emergency quarantine, and remains in force until rescinded or modified by TDA following
assessment of pest distribution and control measures.
Pest Description:
The two-spotted cotton leafhopper (Amrasca biguttula) is a small (3-4 mm), pale green
insect with yellowish-green wings marked by two distinct black spots on the head andforewings (spots may fade in older adults). Nymphs are wingless, pale green, and highly
mobile. Adults and nymphs feed on plant sap from the undersides of leaves, injecting
toxins that cause "hopperburn"—initial yellowing at leaf tips and margins, upward
curling/cupping of leaves, followed by rapid reddening, browning, and necrosis. Severe
infestations lead to defoliation, stunted growth, and reduced boll set in cotton, mimicking
nutrient deficiencies or spider mite damage The pest has multiple generations per year (up
to 20-30 in warm climates), with eggs laid in leaf tissues and a life cycle of 7-14 days under
Texas summer conditions.
Regulated Articles: All living hostable nursery plants and articles capable of harboring or
disseminating the two-spotted cotton leafhopper are regulated, such as any container,
equipment, or container media or soil associated with the hostable plants.
Quarantined Areas:
All counties in Texas with confirmed detections of the two-spotted cotton leafhopper as of
September 1, 2025 based on current inspections and surveys. TDA will maintain an
updated list of quarantined areas on the TDA Plant Quality website
(texasagriculture.gov/Regulatory-Programs/Plant-Quality/Quarantines).
Movement into Texas from infested areas outside the state; southeastern states like
Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina is
prohibited. unless the following conditions for movement are met:
Conditions for Movement:
1. Certification: Accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by an authorized
official from the state/country of origin, confirming the articles are free of the pest
based on visual inspection or treatment. Certificate must include origin,
destination, commodity, and pest-free declaration.
Treatment: Articles must be treated in accordance with TDA-approved methods or
USDA approved treatments, such as:
a. Insecticidal dip or spray using EPA-registered products effective against
leafhoppers
Exemption: Shipments for scientific, research, or immediate processing purposes
may be allowed with prior TDA and/or USDA approval and under containment
protocols.
2. 3. Movement violations are subject to Texas Agriculture Code penalties, including fines up
to $4,000 per violation, seizure, destruction of articles at owner's expense, and
potential criminal charges.
