Have you noticed the area palm trees lately? Some of them are turning yellow. So what's going on? It's a bizarre, but very real problem that has forced the Texas Department of Agriculture to issue emergency quarantines in three counties.

Rudy Trevino has been following the story and joins us from the newsroom.

And one of those counties is Nueces, the other two are in the valley. Now, the quarantine prohibits the import and export of palms from these counties in an effort to control the devastating palm disease known as lethal decline.

Call it an act of mother nature, yellowing palm trees. You've probably seen them around. Now, don't confuse the disease with the bottom branches which normally turn yellow then brown as the tree grows. This disease specifically targets the upper branches.

Dan carballero, fox tree nursery, says, " The signs of this disease will be in the upper center parts of the leaves turning yellow. And if you don't have yellowing in the upper top center parts you don't need to be bothered with it."

Palm trees are a big part of the Texas nursery industry boosting our state's economy by more than 7 million dollars. Fox Tree Nursery owner Dan Caballero sells a good amount of them.

Carballero says, " I haven't seen the disease in the queen palms here yet. But it's getting in the Florida sabal palms, the Washingtonian palms and the date palms."

In a statement Todd Staples says, "Agricultural biosecurity is a priority at the Texas Separtment of Agriculture, and we will continue to take measures to ensure our plants and crops are protected from harmful pests and diseases."

Now as far as what to do with your affected palms, Carballero has one recommendation.

Carballero says, "When a palm tree dies its very important to cut it down and dispose of it because the insects and beetles carry this disease around and if they get into that dead tree that has a disease then they go to another tree, thats how the disease spreads."