USDA photo by David Bartels
Federal and state agriculture officials have taken actions regarding Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly) and sweet orange scab (SOS) quarantines in California. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in cooperation with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) updated the quarantines.
MEDFLY QUARANTINE REMOVED
The agencies removed the Medfly quarantine in Alameda and Santa Clara counties, designated the Santa Clara quarantine. This action releases 241 square miles from quarantine, including 58.76 acres of commercial agriculture.
APHIS originally restricted the interstate movement of regulated articles from this area to prevent the spread of Medfly to non-infested areas of the United States. APHIS and CDFA have now successfully eradicated this transient Medfly population using approved program control methods.
Information on Medfly identification, prevention and more is available on the APHIS Mediterranean Fruit Fly website.
SOS QUARANTINE EXPANDED
APHIS and CDFA expanded the area quarantined for SOS in the Artesia and Buena Park areas of Los Angeles and Orange counties. SOS is a disease caused by the fungus Elsinöe australis. APHIS is expanding the quarantined area by 77 square miles in Los Angeles County and 61 square miles in Orange County.
SOS detections in plant tissue samples collected from residential properties in Los Angeles and Orange counties prompted the quarantine expansion. This expansion does not impact commercial citrus.
APHIS is applying safeguarding measures pertaining to the interstate movement of regulated articles from the quarantined areas in California. This measure parallels the intrastate quarantine that CDFA established on June 4. This action is necessary to prevent the spread of SOS to non-infested areas of the United States.
The APHIS Sweet Orange Scab website has information on this disease, federal orders, approved packinghouse procedures and a description of current quarantined areas.
Source: APHIS
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