Southern California citrus growers are reeling from major infestations. CDFA recently established a quarantine in Ventura County after discovering Huanglongbing, a destructive disease that causes citrus greening. Riverside, San Bernardino and 13 other counties are dealing with oriental fruit flies. Tau fruit flies and Medflies, meanwhile, are impacting Los Angeles County.
California Citrus Mutual President and CEO Casey Creamer worries the additional fruit fly quarantine requirements could prevent fresh fruit from moving offsite, forcing growers to process it into juice and break even at best. He told Agri-Pulse the issue “really needs a lot of attention and help from our urban area partners and legislators,” with e-commerce and air travel bringing more pests.
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Growers, he said, “don’t want to spray” but must fall back on insecticides to knock the populations down.
“That doesn't benefit anybody,” he said. “We need some cooperation on these fronts from our residential neighbors. We're all in this together.”
