Medfly quarantine established

Discovery of a Mediterranean fruit fly infestation in the Rancho Cucamonga area of San Bernardino County has triggered an 88-square-mile quarantine zone. Three adult males and one unmated female were found in two traps on Aug. 16.

Medflies can infest more than 250 types of fruits and vegetables.

The quarantine—announced last week by the California Department of Food and Agriculture—aims to protect against the spread of the infestation.

Eradication efforts began last week with release of sterile male Medflies in an 11-square-mile area. Sterile male Medflies are brought in from a rearing facility in Los Alamitos, which prepares hundreds of millions of sterile flies weekly for release over the Los Angeles Basin. CDFA said the sterile release program has a proven track record of success in Southern California.

Sterile male flies mate with fertile female flies but produce no offspring, ultimately resulting in the eradication of the pest.

Agricultural officials also applied limited treatments to host trees and plants in a 200 meter radius about one-eighth of a mile from the sites where the flies were found, using the organic product GF-120 Naturalyte.

CDFA said it has successfully eradicated every detected Medfly infection in California, dating back more than 30 years.

Additional information, including a map of the quarantine zone, is available at www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/PE/InteriorExclusion/medfly_quarantine.html.