Mexfly infestation detected in northern San Diego County
Mexfly infestation detected in northern San Diego County
Agricultural officials have detected a Mexican fruit fly infestation, a threat to the fresh produce industry, in Escondido in northern San Diego County.
The California Department of Food & Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have expanded insect trapping in the area to detect any additional flies. A quarantine will be imposed to prevent the spread of the infestation once the boundaries of the infested area have been determined.
Five Mexican fruit flies were discovered Nov. 6 in traps on two residential properties near Bear Valley Parkway and Oak Hill Drive in Escondido. The San Diego County Agricultural Commissioner's Office staff performing routine trap checking made the detections. The flies were sent to CDFA's Los Alamitos, CA, facility, where entomologists confirmed the identification of the pest. The five flies are females that had not mated.
The Mexican fruit fly is native to southern and central Mexico. It attacks more than 40 different kinds of fruits and vegetables; its eggs hatch into maggots that tunnel through the fruit and make it unfit for human consumption. The most common cause of these infestations is travelers who illegally transport prohibited, infested produce and plants into the region.
Larry Hawkins of USDA told The Produce News Tuesday, Nov. 13, that he anticipated a quarantine regulation would be in place by the end of the week of Nov. 19. Once the USDA sets the quarantine with the state of California, it can put a federal order in place. He said that the rule of thumb is to impose a 4.5-mile radius around sites where flies are trapped.
"That gives you a nine-by-nine quarantine -- 81 square miles," Mr. Hawkins said. The quarantine boundaries are configured with known landmarks such as roads, and an effort is made to avoid imaginary lines so people are not guessing whether a field is inside or outside the quarantine area, he said.
"As a farmer, I know this quarantine will be a hardship to the growers in this area," said CDFA Secretary A.G. Kawamura. "But I also know they understand that this is a necessary step, and I want to thank them in advance for their cooperation with this eradication effort. This pest is a major threat to California's food supply."
Once a quarantine is established, agricultural shipments from the quarantine zone will be regulated to minimize movement of potentially infested commodities. Locally grown crops will be regulated -- such as citrus and avocados -- except for the Hass variety, which is thick skinned and not a convivial host for this pest. Crews will work with local growers, packinghouses, transporters, farmers markets and other related facilities over the next several weeks to ensure compliance with the quarantine regulations. "It's not a complete prohibition; it's a restriction of host material," Mr. Hawkins said.
In addition, people moving through the quarantine zone are urged not to remove fruits and vegetables from the area. The quarantine requires that local residents not move homegrown fruits and vegetables from the property of origin.
Crews are placing additional traps throughout the effected area to lure adult flies and help determine the extent of the infestation, and inspectors are handling the labor-intensive task of picking and cutting into citrus, avocados and other fruits in the neighborhood to inspect for Mexican fruit fly larvae.
Within a few weeks, CDFA plans to begin releasing approximately 4.5 million sterile Mexican fruit flies each week by plane over approximately nine square miles around the effected sites. This method has been used successfully to eradicate many fruit fly infestations in California since the technique was developed in the 1980s.
A similar project is underway in the Dixon area of Northern California to eradicate a recently discovered Mediterranean fruit fly infestation. Sterile Medfly releases also occur throughout the year in the Los Angeles basin in order to combat the repeated infestations that occur there.
The California Department of Food & Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have expanded insect trapping in the area to detect any additional flies. A quarantine will be imposed to prevent the spread of the infestation once the boundaries of the infested area have been determined.
Five Mexican fruit flies were discovered Nov. 6 in traps on two residential properties near Bear Valley Parkway and Oak Hill Drive in Escondido. The San Diego County Agricultural Commissioner's Office staff performing routine trap checking made the detections. The flies were sent to CDFA's Los Alamitos, CA, facility, where entomologists confirmed the identification of the pest. The five flies are females that had not mated.
The Mexican fruit fly is native to southern and central Mexico. It attacks more than 40 different kinds of fruits and vegetables; its eggs hatch into maggots that tunnel through the fruit and make it unfit for human consumption. The most common cause of these infestations is travelers who illegally transport prohibited, infested produce and plants into the region.
Larry Hawkins of USDA told The Produce News Tuesday, Nov. 13, that he anticipated a quarantine regulation would be in place by the end of the week of Nov. 19. Once the USDA sets the quarantine with the state of California, it can put a federal order in place. He said that the rule of thumb is to impose a 4.5-mile radius around sites where flies are trapped.
"That gives you a nine-by-nine quarantine -- 81 square miles," Mr. Hawkins said. The quarantine boundaries are configured with known landmarks such as roads, and an effort is made to avoid imaginary lines so people are not guessing whether a field is inside or outside the quarantine area, he said.
"As a farmer, I know this quarantine will be a hardship to the growers in this area," said CDFA Secretary A.G. Kawamura. "But I also know they understand that this is a necessary step, and I want to thank them in advance for their cooperation with this eradication effort. This pest is a major threat to California's food supply."
Once a quarantine is established, agricultural shipments from the quarantine zone will be regulated to minimize movement of potentially infested commodities. Locally grown crops will be regulated -- such as citrus and avocados -- except for the Hass variety, which is thick skinned and not a convivial host for this pest. Crews will work with local growers, packinghouses, transporters, farmers markets and other related facilities over the next several weeks to ensure compliance with the quarantine regulations. "It's not a complete prohibition; it's a restriction of host material," Mr. Hawkins said.
In addition, people moving through the quarantine zone are urged not to remove fruits and vegetables from the area. The quarantine requires that local residents not move homegrown fruits and vegetables from the property of origin.
Crews are placing additional traps throughout the effected area to lure adult flies and help determine the extent of the infestation, and inspectors are handling the labor-intensive task of picking and cutting into citrus, avocados and other fruits in the neighborhood to inspect for Mexican fruit fly larvae.
Within a few weeks, CDFA plans to begin releasing approximately 4.5 million sterile Mexican fruit flies each week by plane over approximately nine square miles around the effected sites. This method has been used successfully to eradicate many fruit fly infestations in California since the technique was developed in the 1980s.
A similar project is underway in the Dixon area of Northern California to eradicate a recently discovered Mediterranean fruit fly infestation. Sterile Medfly releases also occur throughout the year in the Los Angeles basin in order to combat the repeated infestations that occur there.
