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
