Agri. & Commodities
Mediterranean fruit flies discovered in L.A. County

LOS ANGELES (Xinhua): A Mediterranean fruit fly infestation was discovered in parts of Los Angeles County -- the first such infestation since 2001, the state Department of Food and Agriculture of California said on Thursday.

Authorities were expected to launch eradication efforts with ground treatments, followed with the aerial release of 250,000 sterile male Medflies for every square mile (about 2.6 square kilometers) in the affected 12.86-square-mile (about 33.3-square-kilometer) area.

In the meantime, state officials said they anticipate imposing a quarantine, urging people not to remove any fruits and vegetables from the area.

Mediterranean fruit flies can infest more than 260 types of fruits and vegetables. State officials estimate that a permanent infestation could result in annual losses of 1.3 billion to 1.8 billion U.S. dollars.

According to state officials, four wild female Medflies were detected at two locations in the Rancho Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills areas. The eradication efforts -- using the insecticide Naturalyte -- will begin in a 200-meter radius surrounding each detection site.

Both Rancho Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills are already part of a "preventive release program," under which millions of sterile Medflies are released each week over various spots in the Los Angeles area.

According to state officials, the state saw an average of 7.5 Medfly infestations each year from 1987 to 1994. Since the release program began in 1996, there have been just seven infestations in California, but three of the seven have been this year.

Agri. & Commodities

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