Current Pre-Harvest Treatments in California
All invasive fruit fly host fruits and vegetables grown inside the quarantine area must be treated if intended for sale or for movement within or outside of the quarantine area. The crop owner or grower must provide all necessary chemicals, personnel, application, and safety equipment. Treatments must be conducted in accordance with the product/pesticide label and all county, state, and federal laws.
Registration for “Special Local Need” with your County Agricultural Commissioner is required for the use of Malathion™. An officer from the Project must monitor all treatments. The Project must receive advance notification of each intended application.
To be eligible for movement within or outside of the quarantined area, a minimum of four applications must be made during the pre-harvest treatment period. The pre-harvest treatment period is a minimum of 30 days, but could be longer, depending on the life cycle degree-day calculations.
Upon completion of all required pre-harvest treatment applications, a permit will be issued authorizing the movement of the treated commodity. If harvest is expected to continue beyond the permit end date, additional applications will be required until harvest is complete. Failure to comply with the treatment schedule will result in the fruit or vegetables becoming ineligible for movement.
NOTE: Host crops inside a core area are NOT eligible for pre-harvest bait treatment and may only move if subjected to an approved processing method or post-harvest treatment. A core area is the area within a circle surrounding each site where fruit flies have been detected using ½ mile radius with the detection site as a center point.