Another quarantine, but not for what you might think.
Several areas in the Inland Empire of Southern California have recently been placed under a crop quarantine due to a fruit fly that has the potential to devastate food growth.
What’s happening?
According to Growing Produce, “The Oriental fruit fly is known to target over 230 different fruits, vegetables, and plant commodities. Important California crops at risk include pome and stone fruits, citrus, dates, avocados, and many vegetables, particularly tomatoes and peppers.”
When larvae are hatched within the various produce items, they become unfit to eat, thus rendering the crop decimated by only a handful of flies, let alone a swarm.
Why is this important?
Invasive species like the Oriental fruit fly pose threats to native species in all kinds of different habitats. When humans are affected, the issue becomes even more damaging.
Per the U.S. Geological Survey, “These species can cause costly economic and ecological damage each year including crop decimation, clogging of water facilities and waterways, [and] wildlife and human disease transmission … “
As invasive species multiply, they have the capability to choke out keystone species by outcompeting them for crucial resources. This, in turn, leads to a domino effect of consequences that range up and down the entire food chain.
Protecting native species is imperative to a healthy, functioning ecosystem, as they produce many benefits simply by existing. They limit the spread of disease and protect food supplies like the ones currently under quarantine in Southern California.
Furthering the knowledge of these critical climate issues helps to educate the masses on the environments they live in, from the micro to macro scales.
What’s being done about this?
Thankfully, the recent employment of a tried-and-true technique hopes to keep the multiplication of the invasive fruit flies at bay. Integrated pest management principles dictate that the “male attractant” approach is historically effective in eradicating pests like the Oriental fruit fly, per Growing Produce.
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Fruit fly attractant is applied to affected crops with a minor dose of natural pesticide. When the males consume it, they die, leaving no way to fertilize any eggs, thus halting reproduction altogether.
As this technique has been successful with similar invasive species in the past, officials are hopeful that the quarantine can soon be lifted on produce in the Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
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