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Fruit Fly Threatens Florida Crops

The Florida Agriculture Department has put an 85-square mile swath of farmland on lockdown after discovering 159 Oriental fruit flies since August 26.

No crops are allowed out of the area unless they are irradiated. The quarantine was imposed just before harvest of many tropical fruits, and won't lift until January even if no more of the flies are found.

The pest, Bactrocera dorsalis, is known to feed or lays eggs in up to 400 kinds of fruit crops.

In each area where a fly was found, workers are spraying pesticides, culling fruit and setting traps.

Government officials told farmers that if more flies are found, they may begin spraying a pesticide called GF-120 more broadly by plane. GF-120 is made by fermenting a naturally-occurring soil fungus and is cleared for use on certified organic products.

Read More:



  • This Pest Has Shut Down South Florida's $700 Million Fruit Industry (NPR)
  • The Pesky Fly Threatening Florida's Massive Fruit Industry (Washington Post)
  • Florida Growers, Adam Putnam Debate Aerial Pest Spray For Invasive Oriental Fruit Fly (Miami Herald)


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