The organisation AVA-Asaja has issued a statement reporting the presence of a new parasite in Valencia's main citrus producing regions, which so far had only been detected in Andalusia and Alicante, and which causes damages to leaves and silvery spots on the fruit that prevent commercialisation.

It is a parasitic mite called Texas (Eutetranychus banksi), which was detected this summer and especially during the autumn months in some orange plantations in the county of La Safor. For their part, the technical services of AVA-Asaja have confirmed a surge in the Texas mite populations in other citrus producing areas, such as Ribera, Camp de Morvedre, L'Horta, Camp de Turia or Hoya de Buñol.

This parasite causes considerable damage to both leaves and the fruit. It leads to discolouring and deterioration of the leaves, causing them to fall in some cases, while the fruit is affected by silvery spots that can even prevent it from being sold in the fresh market.

"In addition to the losses that it will cause on the crops, it entails an extra cost for the producers affected, who will have to invest in acaricide treatments," lamented the president of AVA-Asaja, Cristóbal Aguado.

In the Iberian Peninsula, the Texas mite was first detected in Portugal in 1999. Since then, the parasite has been spreading slowly. In Spain, it appeared for the first time in 2001 in several citrus plantations in the province of Huelva.

Source - http://www.freshplaza.com/