USDA PROVIDES $15 MILLION FOR FIGHT AGAINST LIGHT BROWN APPLE MOTH

Funding will cover expenditures for rest of 2007

SACRAMENTO, August 10, 2007 – The USDA today announced the infusion of $15 million in federal funding to combat the light brown apple moth infestation in California. The commitment allows the   Cooperative Light Brown Apple Moth Eradication Project to move forward with plans to eradicate the pest in a number of California counties – a project intended to protect the environment and prevent spread of the moth elsewhere in the United States.

“This funding is vital for the forward progress of the program,” said CDFA Secretary A.G. Kawamura. “There is so much at stake, in California and the rest of the country. I wish to thank the USDA for taking this important step, and we’re grateful for the efforts of Governor Schwarzenegger and the agriculture industry for communicating the urgent need in California for this assistance.”

The light brown apple moth eradication project is a multi-year program. The USDA funding will cover expenditures incurred already this year and projected expenses for the remainder of 2007.

CDFA, in coordination with the USDA, first confirmed the presence of the apple moth in Alameda County in March 2007. Since then, the two agencies have conducted an aggressive campaign of surveillance, trapping and treatment. To date, the pest has also been detected in Marin, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Napa, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Santa Clara, Solano and Los Angeles counties. 

The light brown apple moth is of particular concern because it can damage a wide range of crops and other plants including cypress, redwoods, oaks and many other varieties commonly found in our urban and suburban landscaping and natural environment.  The list of agricultural crops that could be damaged by this pest includes grapes, citrus, stone fruits (peaches, plums, nectarines, cherries, apricots) and many others.  The complete “host list” contains well over 250 plant species. For more information, click on: http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/pdep/labam_main.htm