Effective immediately, the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is temporarily modifying conditions for the movement of fresh citrus fruit from the non-core areas of the Oriental fruit fly (OFF) quarantine in San Bernardino and Riverside counties for the duration of the 2024 harvest season.
Currently, growers in the San Bernardino and Riverside OFF quarantine area have the ability to conduct pre-harvest bait treatments or two post-harvest treatments (methyl bromide fumigation with a subsequent cold holding period or irradiation) in order to move fresh citrus fruit from non-core areas of the quarantine to areas outside of the quarantine for packing or processing. However, due to the imminent harvest period, neither of these options are economically viable for citrus production in the San Bernardino and Riverside OFF quarantine and at this time and USDA has authorized a modification to provide relief to growers.
This Federal Order establishes a new treatment approach under which fresh citrus fruit from non-core areas may enter domestic commerce outside of the quarantine using an alternative fumigation and subsequent cold treatment method. For clarity, this method is not applicable to fruit grown in the core area, which is comprised of a 0.5-mile radius surrounding the detection of an adult fruit fly or larvae.
This modified approach applies only to the San Bernardino and Riverside OFF quarantine for the 2024 harvest season. It does not permit international export of fresh citrus fruit from this area unless the citrus meets existing export certification requirements for regulated articles from fruit fly quarantine areas.
To review the new post-harvest treatment approach for the interstate movement of fresh citrus fruit from the non-core areas of the San Bernardino and Riverside OFF quarantine, including grower requirements, grove requirements, and monitoring, treatment and inspection requirements, please visit the APHIS website.
To review a full list of the current harvest and crop management requirements in place for all other invasive fruit fly species and quarantines, please visit CAFruitFly.com.
If you have any questions about the updates from APHIS, please reach out directly to the Southern California Cooperative Fruit Fly Project contact Dayna Napolillo at Dayna.Napolillo@cdfa.ca.gov.