Memorial Day is a time to honor those who selflessly serve the United States through the nation’s military and service professions. It is also a time to reflect on our nation’s history and the efforts of others to ensure national security for all Americans. For some, Memorial Day is even a time to fellowship with friends and family and ring in the coming summer months.
Not every citizen can or will serve in the military or other public service profession, but every American can contribute to national security by staying aware of his or her impact on the environment. Invasive plant and apiary pests and diseases threaten our food supply and green spaces every day, and agencies like USDA and FDACS work together to protect our nation from those pests and diseases.
Here are a few tips from DPI to keep in mind during this weekend:
- Help stop the spread of the redbay ambrosia beetle and laurel wilt by purchasing local firewood and burning it all on site. Unprocessed wood like firewood can harbor harmful pests and diseases that affect our state’s forests, landscape plants and agricultural trees. It attacks avocado trees and no one wants to do without guacamole – remember to Save the Guac!
- If you are in the Pompano Beach Medfly quarantine area, do not move fruit in or out of the area. By minimizing the movement of fruit or host plants (especially the fresh crop of mangos), you can help stop the spread of the Mediterranean fruit fly.
Stop by DPI’s website to learn more about protecting Florida’s environment and agriculture industry from harmful plant pests and diseases. We hope you have a great Memorial Day weekend. Thank you to all of the military and service men and women who serve to keep our country safe!
Hold the mangos, please.
May 13, 2011
After spending the spring battling the Mediterranean fruit fly in Pompano Beach, DPI is looking forward to only having one more month left in this eradication cycle, pending no new fly finds. There were three core areas around Medfly finds in Pompano, and one of the core area eradication cycles ended on May 4. The two other core areas are scheduled to end on June 16 and June 18. Things are looking up for the eradication program, but mangos coming into season could throw a kink in eradication plans. You can help prevent prolonging eradication completion by following DPI guidelines for moving host plants and fruit.
Mangos are a known host for Medfly and are in production in the Pompano Beach area. Also, many homeowners near the Medfly find core areas have backyard mango trees. While shipping tasty, homegrown Florida mangos to friends and relatives in other parts of the state and country might seem like a nice thing to do, it could be detrimental to eradication efforts.
If you are in the Medfly quarantine area, it is illegal to move fruit, vegetables or nuts within or outside of the quarantine area. Moving fruit risks the spread of Medfly. We ask that you do not move fresh fruit from your property, as even delicious-looking fruit could be full of Medfly maggots which quickly hatch into adult flies. Also, please pick up any fallen or extra fruit. When you dispose of fruit, tie it in a plastic bag and put it out with household trash, not yard waste. Don’t just follow these instructions yourself; tell your friends and family, too! Everyone’s cooperation is needed to successfully eradicate the Medfly.
If you are located in the Medfly quarantine area, you’ll probably come across this poster. If you have any questions, please visit the DPI website or call the division’s toll-free helpline at 888-397-1517. For background information, check out our related blog posts.
DPI is working with you to safeguard Florida’s agriculture industry and environment. Travelers often unknowingly transport harmful plant pests and diseases like Mediterranean fruit flies, red palm mites, citrus greening, cycad scale and many others. It is estimated that one exotic plant pest or disease is introduced into Florida every month.
If you enjoy flying or sailing around the state, be a responsible maritime vessel or aviation operator. Remind passengers of the potential risks associated with bringing fruit and vegetables into Florida. Know the rules about the movement of agricultural products by visiting www.freshfromforida.com or calling 888-397-1517. Safeguard unrefrigerated fruits and vegetables by wrapping them in plastic. Secure peels and other waste from fruits and vegetables in tied plastic bags and dispose of them in a closed dumpster, or double-bag them to set out with household trash. Always be on the lookout and report any suspicious plant pest or disease to your county extension office or to DPI at 888-397-1517. Don’t move firewood. Firewood and unprocessed wood products, including handicrafts, can harbor harmful pests and diseases. Also, purchase plants from registered nurseries. Help keep our food supply safe. When you travel, don’t pack a pest!
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One down, two to go.
March 14, 2011
Mediterranean fruit fly eradication efforts are still underway in Pompano Beach. Eradication is declared when three Medfly life cycles are completed with no new wild fly find. Currently, the projected eradication date for this Medfly program is mid-May of this year. However, DPI and USDA efforts are a third of the way completed, as one full Medfly life cycle has passed with no new wild fly find. That’s one down, with two more life cycles to go. DPI and USDA representatives have been working diligently to eradicate the Medfly and protect the more than 260 fruits, vegetables and nuts that can serve as a host to the invasive insect. You can help with eradication efforts by cooperating with state and federal agricultural officials.
Stay posted on the Medfly program in Pompano Beach by visiting http://www.freshfromflorida.com/pi/medfly.
Sterile Flies to the Rescue
March 1, 2011
Good news: As of February 25, FDACS and USDA reported that no additional Mediterranean fruit fly has been found since the discovery of two Medflies on February 10 in Pompano Beach.
To address the outbreak, FDACS has placed 1,473 traps in a 51-square-mile area around the positive find. The traps were checked daily, but because no additional fly was found, the traps will now be checked on a weekly basis.
A regulatory boundary (2011 Pompano Beach Medfly Regulated Area) has been established around the area of the positive find to prevent the spread of Medfly. Homeowners within the regulatory boundary should follow these guidelines until eradication is completed:
-Do not move any fruits and vegetables off of your property.
-Pick up any fallen fruits and vegetables from the yard.
-Double-bag fruits and vegetables in plastic. Securely tie bags and leave them out for household garbage pickup, not yard waste.
-Allow state or federal representatives access to your property for survey, trapping or treatment activities.
The next phase of the Medfly eradication program involves utilizing the Sterile Insect Technique, a biologically-based reproduction control method that releases large quantities of sterile male Medflies to outnumber the potential for mating by wild males. Wild female insects that mate with sterile males do not produce offspring, interrupting the reproduction cycle. FDACS began releasing sterile male Medflies in a 60-mile area near Pompano Beach on Sunday, February 27. Weather permitting, flies will be released three times a week throughout the duration of the eradication program. Currently, the eradication program is scheduled to end this May. If another Medfly is found, the eradication program will be extended for three Medfly life cycles.
The Sterile Insect Technique is an effective method of eradication because it is safe for the environment and the public. Since 1999, FDACS and USDA have been operating a Sterile Medfly Preventative Response Program, which involves the release of Medflies in high risk areas of the state.
It is important to note that although wild Medflies can be devastating to agriculture and its more than 260 host plants, they are not harmful to humans. For more information about the Medfly response, visit http://www.freshfromflorida.com/pi/medfly or contact DPI’s helpline at 888-397-1517.
What’s in a name? Peach fruit fly find impacts much more than peaches.
November 17, 2010
“What’s in a name, That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet?”
-Juliet, Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)
In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Juliet tries to convey the idea that a name does not necessarily provide an accurate meaning. With the discovery of a peach fruit fly in Miami-Dade County earlier this month, some Floridians might be wondering what could be causing the concern over the fly. Florida might not be as well known for peach production as its neighbor to the north, Georgia, but the peach fruit fly poses a serious risk to Florida’s environment and agriculture industry. Don’t let the name fool you. The peach fruit fly has an appetite for more than just peaches.
- Peach Fruit Fly
A peach fruit fly, Bactrocera zonata, was found in a trap in a guava tree in Miami-Dade County by a U.S. Department of Agriculture inspector during routine surveillance activities earlier this month, marking the first Florida find for this particular species of fruit fly. The peach fruit fly is considered one of world’s most serious fruit fly pests due to its potential economic harm. It attacks many different fruits, vegetables and nuts, including mango, guava, citrus, eggplant, tomato, apple, peach, melon, loquat, almond and fig. The fruit flies lay their eggs in the fruits and vegetables, and in a few days, the eggs hatch and maggots render the fruits or vegetables inedible.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, along with its federal counterpart, has launched an intensified trapping program in an 79-square-mile area surrounding the fruit fly find. If more flies are found, trapping will continue, and an insecticide may be applied to telephone poles along with a substance that attracts the flies. The public will be notified 24 hours prior to the application of any insecticides or other treatment activities, and if necessary, additional outreach activities will be conducted to provide all relevant information.
Agricultural officials are attempting to determine the source of the fruit that carried this fly into Florida. If you have any information on the possible origin of this fly, please report it to the USDA’s anti-smuggling hotline at 1-800-877-3835.
The peach fruit fly marks the third exotic fruit fly find in Florida this year. In June, Mediterranean fruit flies were trapped in Palm Beach County, and a full-scale, three-month eradication program was conducted—one of the shortest in U.S. history. In August, two Oriental fruit flies were found in a trap in Pinellas County, where trapping continues and no additional flies have been found. This year alone, about $7 million has been spent on the Palm Beach and Pinellas county programs. However, $7 million is a much lower figure than would be associated with the potential economic harm caused by untreated fruit fly infestations.
“What these multiple incursions of exotic fruit flies into Florida are telling us is that even with our successful statewide fruit fly detection and monitoring efforts and preventative sterile fly release program, harmful pests and diseases are still being brought into the state by the traveling public,” said Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson. “We must continue to raise public awareness about the risks associated with moved agricultural products without proper certification. We’re asking the public to refrain from bringing any plant material in from another country to reduce the incidence of invasive pests.”
State and federal agencies will work with local governments to keep the public involved and to provide updated information. More information can be found on the department’s website, including maps of the detection area and detailed information on the peach fruit fly.
How can you help keep the story of Florida agriculture from becoming a tragedy like Romeo and Juliet? When you travel, don’t pack a pest!
Need more info? Call our toll-free helpline at 888-397-1517 or e-mail us at dpi-blog@doacs.state.fl.us.
Shoo, Medfly, don’t bother me.
September 20, 2010
After a summer of battle with the infamous Mediterranean fruit fly, DPI came out victorious. The state’s Division of Plant Industry, along with its federal counterparts, worked diligently to eradicate the Medfly and continue to protect Florida’s agriculture industry, environment and economy from the potential devastation this pest could bring to the state.
Commissioner Bronson announced September 1 that eradication has been declared in the Medfly outbreak in Palm Beach County. This means that regulations have been lifted and fruit movement is no longer prohibited. Eradication is achieved when three life cycles of the Medfly, or about 60 days, have passed without finding another wild Medfly.
The Medfly is considered the most serious of the world’s fruit fly pests due to its potential economic harm and threat to our food supply. It attacks more than 250 different fruits, vegetables and nuts, including oranges, grapefruit, lemons, apples, guava, mango, tomatoes and peppers. Population growth may be explosive, as females are capable of producing hundreds of eggs.
The Medfly eradication program was successful because of the outstanding efforts of DPI’s Incident Control Team. However, credit is due to the Floridians who cooperated with the eradication efforts. Eradication programs cannot be successful without public support.
Federal and state agriculture officials will continue to educate the public about the risks associated with bringing agricultural products illegally into the state that may harbor harmful pests and diseases like the Medfly. Illegal agricultural products are often introduced into the state unknowingly by visitors. However, one piece of infested fruit likely cause this multi-million dollar eradication program that prevented residents from enjoying, and businesses from selling, their fruit and vegetables for a three-month period, and could have potentially wiped out entire crops.
Help keep Florida Medfly-free! Keep our message in mind: “Don’t Pack a Pest — when traveling, don’t move agricultural products.” Also, purchasing plants from registered Florida nurseries and reporting suspicious plant pests and diseases helps to protect the state. More information can be found on DPI’s website, and you can also call our toll-free help number at 888-397-1517 or e-mail us at DPI-blog@doacs.state.fl.us.
Scooped and sliced or served cut “inside-out”, mixed into salsas or smoothies, served in ice cream or fresh off of the tree, mangos are a tasty Florida treasure.
Mango trees are a popular choice for backyard fruit trees in Florida.
Mangos are grown commercially in Florida in Miami-Dade, Lee and Palm Beach counties, but the fruit trees are a common sight in backyards of south Florida residents. Tall evergreen trees provide this flavorful fruit that just beckons you to slice one open over the sink and enjoy. Mangos are called the “king of fruits” for a reason. However, this year some communities in Florida aren’t able to enjoy their mangos like in years past.
This summer marks a battle between the federal and state plant regulatory agencies and the Mediterranean fruit fly, which attacks over 260 host plants in Florida, including our king of fruits, the mango. Representatives from the USDA and the state Division of Plant Industry have been working tirelessly to eradicate wild Mediterranean fruit flies discovered this past June.
The Medfly lays its eggs inside host fruits, ruining and rotting the fruit, and can infest trees to the point that edible fruit isn’t an option. Fortunately, our efforts are proving successful so far, and mangos will hopefully be able to remain “king” in Florida.
We want you to be able to enjoy your mangos every year. Help us help you.
You can find more information on our Web site at http://www.fl-dpi.com.
Since we know you love mangos so much, here are a few recipes to try from our Fresh from Florida chef:
Mango Kugel
Tropical Mango Sorbet
Fresh Strawberry-Mango Milkshake
Mango Enchilada
Mango Upside-Down Cake
Mucho Mango Bread Pudding
Mango Pancakes
Also try these kid-friendly recipes:
Fruit Muffins
Avocado Mango Salsa
History tends to repeat itself.
July 19, 2010
“I remember, too, a summer when peace and war battled for possession of the Creek and for all of Florida. The conflict was grave for us. The enemy was the Mediterranean fruit fly.” ( from Cross Creek)
In her book, Cross Creek, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings tells her own story of running a homestead in north central Florida in the early 1900s, from managing a 72-acre citrus grove to dealing with runaway farm animals. The challenges that threatened her livelihood are not so different than the challenges faced by Florida farmers and producers today. In this excerpt, Rawlings is describing her experiences and those of her neighbors in dealing with the Mediterranean fruit fly outbreak in 1929.
Adult Mediterranean fruit fly
By that time, the Mediterranean fruit fly had already been on the march for over 100 years. It had spread from its native home in sub-Saharan Africa to the countries of southern Europe and northern Africa surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. It continued to spread to South America, Australia, Hawaii, and was devastating to local agriculture in all of those places.
In Florida, however, a determined effort was undertaken by the state plant board and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to eliminate this pest and was remarkably successful. For the first time ever, the Mediterranean fruit fly had been eradicated from an area it had newly colonized. Florida continues to be a leader in the ongoing battle against invasive pest fruit flies from around the world.
We’re fighting the same enemy today that some of the first Florida farmers, like Rawlings, fought less than a hundred years ago—the Mediterranean fruit fly, now referred to as the Medfly. The conflict is still grave, and we’re fighting to preserve the livelihoods of Floridians who still make their living from the land and your ability to enjoy Florida’s variety of fruits, nuts, vegetables and flowers—all hosts to the Medfly.
Medfly larvae on fruit
Imagine you own a mango grove. You’re used to being able to go out into your grove, pick a ripe mango and enjoy the taste of fresh, locally grown fruit. However, today you pick a mango, go to take a bite, and to your horror discover it’s infested with maggots and rotting. You look around your grove and notice that your fruit has a big problem. You can’t eat your mangos, and you definitely can’t sell them. Now multiply this situation by the thousands of Floridians that grow the more than 260 different hosts of Medfly. Fruit, vegetables and nuts become harder to grow, more costly to produce and require more chemicals to control pests. Homegrown fruit and vegetables would be at risk. Welcome to the world of the Medfly.
Whether you’re an agricultural producer, or a Floridian who enjoys a backyard garden or fruit tree, the Medfly can affect your ability grow fruit and vegetables.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) has been fighting to protect Florida from agricultural pests and diseases like the Medfly for years. The Medfly was eradicated from Florida again in the late 1990s and has been monitored through over 56,000 fruit fly traps around the state, but wild fruit flies were discovered in Palm Beach County last month. Since the find was confirmed as Medfly, FDACS Division of Plant Industry employees have been working on location to control the spread of this potentially devastating agricultural pest through a variety of methods.
The Medfly is a problem that impacts every Floridian. You can be part of the solution.
DPI Fruit Fly Helpline: 888-397-1517
