Apple moth quarantine expands

SACRAMENTO
March 16, 2009 1:09pm

New boundaries have been imposed by the California Department of Food and Agriculture to quarantine plants, flowers, fruits and vegetables grown in Sonoma and Santa Clara counties due to recent findings of the Light Brown Apple Moth.

A new quarantine of approximately 18 square miles is now established in the Sebastopol area of Sonoma County while an existing quarantine in the Milpitas area of Santa Clara County increases by approximately 64 square miles.

Approximately 2,414 square miles are now under quarantine within California.

State and federal quarantine regulations prohibit the movement of all nursery stock, all cut flowers, and all host fruits and vegetables and plant parts within or from the quarantined area unless it is certified as free from the pest by an agricultural official; is purchased at a retail outlet; or was produced outside the area and is passing through in accordance with accepted safeguards. Additionally, federal regulations apply to host commodities from the entire county if the commodities are moving interstate.

The quarantine applies to residential and public properties as well as plant nurseries, farms and other commercial enterprises. Residents are asked to consume fruits and vegetables from yards and gardens in the area rather than removing them from the property. Landscapers and yard maintenance companies will be among the businesses placed under compliance agreements to ensure that yard waste is disposed of properly.

The Light Brown Apple Moth is native to Australia and is found in New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Hawaii. More than two-thousand plant species known to be susceptible to attack by this pest, as well as more than 250 crops, according to the CDFA.