Oriental Fruit Fly Quarantine Removed

Federal and state officials on Aug. 11 removed the Oriental fruit fly quarantine in California’s Riverside and San Bernardino counties. This action releases the remaining 365 square miles of the quarantine, which contained 1,800 acres of commercial agriculture. Release from quarantine occurred after three generations elapsed since the date of the last detection, based on a degree-day model.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) took this action. USDA APHIS and CDFA established the quarantine on Sept. 27, 2023, following detections of 118 adult OFF and 45 OFF larvae in and around the city of Redlands in San Bernardino County between Sept. 18 and 27. The agencies expanded the quarantine seven times following detections of additional flies in various locations in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. A portion of the quarantine in Riverside County was released on July 5, 2024, after three generations elapsed with no additional detections in that area.

USDA APHIS restricted the interstate movement of regulated articles from this area to prevent the spread of Oriental fruit flies to non-infested areas of the United States. APHIS has worked cooperatively with CDFA and the Riverside and San Bernardino County agricultural commissioners to eradicate this transient pest population through various control actions.

The removal of this quarantine area is reflected on the APHIS Exotic Fruit Flies website, which contains a description of all current federal fruit fly quarantine areas. USDA APHIS will publish a notice of this change in the Federal Register.

Additional information about the Oriental fruit fly quarantine area can be obtained from USDA National Policy Manager Richard Johnson by email at richard.n.johnson@usda.gov or by phone at 301-851-2109.

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Sponsored Content