Malathion

Quoting from your article on the Medfly, most growers have stopped spraying pesticides on their crops for the last 20 years (“Medfly Quarantine Puts Growers’ Livelihoods on the Line,” Part A, April 15). They have found more beneficial ways and wound up with fewer pests than any time in the past. The growers are afraid to introduce malathion in their environment. I am with them.

However, wouldn’t it make more sense to spray the crops than to spray all over residential areas and put malathion in the air we all breathe, which is already polluted enough by our blanket of smog? I am sure that people would rather put up with some chemicals on their fruit, if need be, than in their lungs. It does not speak well for our governor to ignore the people wishing to stop the spraying, and then passing the buck elsewhere.

One Medfly found once in a while does not an infestation make. We have the state Department of Agriculture to thank for blowing the whole thing out of proportion.

ADELE LONDON

Los Angeles