Invasive fruit fly species leads to agriculture quarantine for some of Orange County
By Marissa Wenzke
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ORANGE COUNTY, California (KCAL, KCBS) — Some of Orange County has been placed under a quarantine due to an invasive fruit fly species, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, which told residents in affected areas to not move homegrown fruits and vegetables from their properties.
State officials announced Wednesday that eight oriental fruit flies have been detected in and around the cities of Santa Ana and Garden Grove. To keep the pest from spreading further, officials issued a quarantine zone that spans 87 miles — bordered on the north by Anaheim, on the south by John Wayne Airport in the Santa Ana area, on the east by State Route 55 and on the west near Huntington Beach.
The pest threatens many crops in California including citrus, tomatoes, avocadoes, cherries, peaches, apricots, plums and figs. Not eradicating the species in the state would cost an estimated $44 to $176 million in crop losses, according to state agriculture officials, with the fly causing rotting and spoiling of the produce as larvae tunnel through the flesh of the fruits and vegetables.
This happens when the female fruit fly lays eggs inside of the fruit, and the eggs then hatch onto maggots that go through the flesh.
“Decay organisms enter, leaving the interior of the fruit a rotten mass,” the state department says.
More than 230 kinds of fruits and vegetables have been attacked. Getting rid of the pest — and the widespread, costly damage it can cause — requires the use of additional pesticides and quarantine requirements, state officials said.
“Oriental fruit fly has been introduced into California a number of times through the movement of infested fruits and vegetables into the state,” the Department of Food and Agriculture states. “Although infestations have occasionally been found in California, these have all been successfully eradicated.”
In Orange County, state officials have told residents in the quarantine zone to not move homegrown fruits and vegetables from their properties.
“However, they may be consumed or processed (i.e., juiced, frozen, cooked, or ground in the garbage disposal) on the property where they were picked or disposed of by double bagging and placing in the regular trash, not green waste,” state agriculture officials said.
Throughout the year, federal, state and county agriculture officials work to detect, eliminate, and when possible prevent, the threat of the invasive species, which is widespread throughout much of mainland southern Asia and neighboring islands, including Taiwan and Sri Lanka and Taiwan.
Anyone with questions can reach the state department’s Pest Hotline at 800-491-1899 or visit cdfa.ca.gov/plant/fruitfly.
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