The 1989/1990 Mediterranean Fruit Fly Eradication Program in California

Abstract

Infestations of the Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly) have been found in California four times in the past decade. The 1989/90 eradication program, a cooperative effort by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Agricultural Commissioners Offices of Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, and Santa Clara Counties, is the second largest medfly project conducted in the state. The current program began in July 1989, and the infestation is to be declared eradicated in early November 1990. Program costs are estimated to be in excess of 52 million dollars.