Sterile Medfly Shortage in 4th Straight Week
The state’s battle against the Mediterranean fruit fly in Southern California was struck for the fourth consecutive week by a shortage of sterile Medflies, but agriculture officials say they expect no lingering effects to the eradication campaign.
Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner Leon Spaugy, a co-director of the eradication project, said the shortage has forced workers to use fewer sterile flies than planned to disrupt the pest’s breeding cycle.
But he added that no wild Medflies have been discovered in the last five weeks.
The shortage has been caused by production problems at three sterile fly breeding facilities in Hawaii. Additional shipments of sterile flies are to arrive next week from Mexico and possibly Guatemala.
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