Malathion Spraying to Be Extended 1 Month : Medfly: Two dates for eradication program are added. Authorities blame cool spring weather, which can lengthen the pest’s life cycle.

Agriculture officials announced Tuesday that they will extend by a month the aerial spraying of the pesticide malathion over Camarillo because cooler-than-normal spring weather has lengthened the life cycle of the crop-destroying Mediterranean fruit fly.

Mike Chrisman, undersecretary to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, said officials had hoped to end the spray program this month, but cool temperatures have forced two more sprayings of the 16-square-mile eradication zone in eastern Camarillo and Somis.

Next Tuesday night’s scheduled spraying was to be the 12th and final aerial treatment.

“All winter we have been taking air and soil temperature data from the (eradication) zone, and, unfortunately it’s just been a little too cool for us to have gotten through two complete life cycles of the fly,” Chrisman said.

Agriculture officials said the Medfly can complete a life cycle in about one month to 45 days under optimum weather conditions. However, when temperatures drop into the 40-to-50-degree range, the pest’s life cycle can extend to three months or longer.

To ensure eradication, agriculture officials say they must spray the Medfly with malathion through two complete life cycles.

“We thought we were going to see the peak of the second life cycle this month, but it just didn’t happen,” Chrisman said. “Frankly, at this point we have invested too much of the taxpayers’ time and money to make a mistake by cutting off this program prematurely.”

Officials say they will send the now familiar trio of malathion-laden helicopters into the skies over eastern Camarillo and Somis next Tuesday, and again on May 9 and May 23. The helicopters are expected to depart from Camarillo Airport at 9 p.m.

Chrisman said that following the last spraying, state and federal agriculture workers will descend upon the 86-square-mile quarantine zone and conduct an extensive trapping program that will last the duration of a Medfly’s life cycle.

“If we get warmer weather, that should bring us to mid-July,” Chrisman said. “If we don’t find any additional insects then, we should be able to lift the quarantine at that time.”

The extension frustrated malathion opponents, who contend that any more applications of the pesticide will increase health risks to residents in the eradication zone. Both state and federal agriculture officials, however, have denied that malathion represents a serious health risk to people.

“I think we’ve been overexposed as is,” said Terri Gaishin, chairwoman of the Camarillo-based Group Against Spraying People, or GASP. “According to the scientific authorities, the damage has already been done. Other than knowing when this will end, we don’t view this as terribly encouraging news.”

Local farm officials also expressed concerns with the extension, but for different reasons.

“We’re disappointed that the weather didn’t cooperate with us,” said Kerry Bustamante, a deputy Ventura County agricultural commissioner. “But while farmers in our area are anxious to get this behind them, they understand the importance of doing it right the first time.”

Rex Laird, executive director of the Ventura County Farm Bureau, agreed, but said he was glad an end to the controversial program was in sight.

“Everything so far has been by the book,” Laird said. “But I’ve lived in this county since 1968, and I can’t remember an April like this. I just hope it warms up fast. I don’t want us to test the patience of the public and the farming community.”

If the program is completed as scheduled next month, agriculture officials will have conducted a total of 14 spray missions.

The first aerial spraying was conducted on Oct. 12, less than two weeks after the first of the crop-destroying pests was discovered in a Camarillo orchard. So far, a total of 66 Medflies have been discovered in traps, with the last insect being found Nov. 21.