California Investigating Two Major Pests
Agriculture officials were cited as saying in late May that sightings of the light brown apple moth (Epiphyas postvittana) - which can ruin everything from tomatoes to citrus fruit to alfalfa - have shot up into the thousands since the insect was first discovered in the San Francisco Bay area three months ago. The half-inch moth with an indiscriminate appetite has prompted a federal quarantine, brought together scientists from around the world and worried farmers in California, where agriculture brings in more than $30 billion in revenue a year. A spokesperson for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) was cited as saying that about 80 percent of the moths trapped so far have been in Santa Cruz County, though the first report came in February when a retired entomologist spotted one in his Berkeley backyard, adding, “They look like any old moth. The average person wouldn't have been able to differentiate it from a native species.”
As of late May, officials have received 3,348 reports of light brown apple moth sightings in the affected California counties, which are Santa Clara, San Mateo, Alameda, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Contra Costa, San Francisco, and Marin.
In meetings with officials from other countries, various control and/or eradication methods were discussed. In those countries, one proven method of controlling all stages is the use of chlorpyrifos (Dursban®/Lorsban®). The moths usually spread by laying eggs in nursery plants. The APHIS spokesperson stated that alternatives to pesticides were being examined and that although they are trying to move quickly, it will take several weeks to receive panel recommendations.
Meanwhile, tomato yellow leaf curl virus, an insect-borne virus that has killed tomato plants across the Caribbean, Central America, Florida and Georgia has been detected in California for the first time. The virus has devastated crops in the Dominican Republican and in Mexico, forcing those countries to curtail the growing season to contain the spread of the disease. Tomatoes are California's eighth largest crop. The state supplies the vast majority of the nation's processed tomatoes - 95 percent, according to the California Tomato Growers Association (CTGA).
The president of CTGA, which represents farmers who supply the state's $2 billion a year processed tomato industry, was quoted as saying, “Where this virus is present, it will absolutely kill the tomatoes. It's a very difficult disease to fight.” California has some natural advantages in stopping the disease from spreading that other locales lack. The cold, wet winters in the Central Valley, where most tomatoes are grown, act as barriers to the white flies that carry the disease. (AP, 5/22/07, 5/26/07, & 5/27/07)
