WAFB Channel 9, Baton Rouge, LA |Pest finds prompt San Diego County quarantines
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VALLEY CENTER, Calif. (AP) - State agriculture officials have expanded and established quarantines in northern San Diego County to counter two insect infestations.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture announced Wednesday that the quarantines were intended to minimize the spread of the Asian citrus psyllid and the Mediterranean fruit fly.
An existing 7,500-square-mile psyllid quarantine covering parts of three counties was expanded by nearly 1,000 square miles after the pest was trapped in the Valley Center area. The psyllid can carry a disease fatal to lemon and orange trees.
The psyllid quarantine overlaps with a 9-square-mile area near the town of Fallbrook where three Mediterranean fruit flies were trapped. The fly can harm citrus plants and hundreds of other fruits and vegetables.
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