Introduction to the Symposium

Abstract

Abstract One of the most widely discussed and hotly debated topics in recent years has been the medfly situation in California. After seemingly having been eradicated following its discovery in 1980, it flared up again in early summer of 1981 and became the center of a national and international furor. Despite this wide interest, some may wonder whether a symposium on an insect pest, even the medfly, is an appropriate topic for a meeting fo the American Society for Horticultural Science. However, when one considers the economic impact of the medfly on a wide range of horticultural crops (150-200 fruits and vegetables) and the economic impact of the pest on these horticultural crops, then a symposium on the medfly seems quite appropriate at almost any agricultural forum. The cost of eradication of the Santa Clara infestation currently is somewhere, between 80-$100 million. This does not include the additional millions of dollar losses in lost markets and the cost of fumigating commodities for interstate shipment or export as a result of quarantine restrictions during the 1981 season.