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Sacramento, Yolo counties end Oriental fruit fly quarantine

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED MAY 30, 2019

Backyard fruit no longer is under quarantine from the Oriental fruit fly
in a 123-square-mile area of Sacramento and Yolo counties.
(Photo: Kathy Morrison)

Pest finally eradicated after August find in south Sacramento

The quarantine is over! The dreaded Oriental fruit fly has been eradicated in Sacramento County.

On Wednesday, the state Department of Food and Agriculture announced the eradication of this pest, found last August in the Lemon Hill neighborhood of south Sacramento. A 123-square-mile area in Sacramento and Yolo counties has been in quarantine ever since.

After nine months of trapping and monitoring, officials determined the threat was over. In total, 15 males and one female were found.

The quarantine led to tenting at farmers markets and a ban of transportation of fruit outside the effected area.

"CDFA, the USDA, the Yolo County Agricultural Commissioner and the Sacramento County Agricultural Commissioner acknowledge and thank local area residents and businesses for their cooperation in preventing the movement of backyard fruit and allowing property access to perform critical eradication activities," the release said.

(Courtesy CDFA)

Native to southern Asia, the Oriental fruit fly attacks more than 230 crops, making it one of the worse agricultural pests in the state. The female flies tunnel into fruit and vegetables to lay eggs. The eggs hatch into maggots that feed on the food around them, making it unfit for human consumption.

While this threat is over, ag officials urged residents to stay vigilant.

"The vast majority (of Oriental fruit flies) are found in urban and suburban communities," the release noted. "The most common pathway for these pests to enter the state is by 'hitchhiking' in fruits and vegetables brought back illegally by travelers when they return from infested regions of the world."

For tips on how to avoid bringing home pests, go to www.dontpackapest.com .

For more on the Oriental fruit fly: https://bit.ly/2HJgzxo

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Keywords:

fruit Oriental fruit flies gardening Sacramento farmers markets pests backyard produce insects

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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3

November still offers good weather for fall planting:

* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.

* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.

* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.

* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.

* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.

* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.

* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.

* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.

* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.

* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.

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