Airport Dog Finds Illegal Food Stowed in Luggage (Mar 26, 2012)
USA Today; AP News.
Izzy, an agricultural detector beagle, works to find foods and plants brought in by visitors that are considered invasive species or banned projects, some containing insects or larvae know to be harmful to U.S. agriculture. "Something as simple as an apple could carry the larva of a Mediterranean fruit fly," said Officer James Armstrong, who supervises the agricultural searches, "which, if it got loose in our citrus crops in the U.S., could cost billions of dollars."

Spinach Genes May Stop Deadly Citrus Disease (Mar 26, 2012)
Texas A&M. AgriLife Today.
Citrus growers worldwide who currently have no cure for a devastating, tree-killing disease may soon find relief from an unlikely source -- spinach. Researchers have transferred two genes from spinach into citrus trees, apparently providing resistance to citrus greening disease, or Huanglongbing, often referred to as HLB.

Coast Guard Issues Standard for Living Organisms in Ships' Discharged Ballast Water (Mar 16, 2012)
DHS. Coast Guard.
The U.S. Coast Guard has finalized its ballast water standards, which are the most stringent to date. "These new regulations will aid in controlling the introduction and spread of nonindigenous species from ships' ballast water," said Jeffrey Lantz, director of the Coast Guard's Office of Commercial Regulations and Standards. "This final rule establishes a ballast water discharge standard that is protective of the marine environment and is also consistent with the discharge standard adopted by the International Maritime Organization in 2004." See related Federal Register Notice (Mar 23, 2012; PDF | 202 KB) for more information.

Save Our Citrus
U.S. Department of Agriculture.
USDA has updated and re-launched its Save Our Citrus Web site which currently features five things you can learn to grow healthy citrus plants. The site provides the latest information on citrus disease, including the areas affected, symptoms, and photos with an online "Report It" form. The site also contains outreach materials so you can spread the word about the ways to help stop devastating citrus diseases.