Wheat Infection Found in State; Blythe Area Quarantined

Federal officials on Friday confirmed the first hard evidence that a potentially devastating wheat fungus has invaded California, causing the U.S. Department of Agriculture to declare a partial quarantine in Riverside County.

The news sparked fear that the fast-spreading fungus could move into the state’s prime wheat growing areas in the Central Valley, jeopardizing what would have been a bumper crop amid a time of high world prices. More than half of the state’s crop is exported, but foreign nations are likely to balk at wheat from infected areas.

Stores of hard red winter wheat, examined in Blythe and Ripley in Riverside County, tested positive for Karnal bunt fungus, the USDA said, providing the first evidence that the malady has spread to California from infected areas in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

Although Imperial Valley, set to harvest 100,000 acres of wheat next month, is still officially free of the pest, Imperial County Agricultural Commissioner Stephen Birdsall said he expects tests from at least two durum wheat fields in the valley to come up positive early next week, and lead to USDA quarantine.

His office confirmed that contaminated seeds from Arizona, where the pest first turned up in this country, were planted on at least two farms in the Imperial Valley.

The fungus, for which there is no known treatment, reduces the yield and value of infected grain by giving it a fishy smell. Although the fungus is not harmful to humans, many foreign countries do not accept wheat tainted with Karnal bunt, and farmers here fear that infestation will lead to cancellation of lucrative export sales contracts and cause a wheat glut on the domestic market. Canada has already banned importation of all U.S. durum wheat and all varieties of wheat from the four infected states.

The fungus was first believed to be limited to durum wheat, which is used to make pasta. But the infestation was found two days ago in a Mesa, Ariz., storage facility for hard red winter wheat used to make bread. Shipments from the Mesa facility were traced to Blythe and Ripley.

Farmers in Imperial Valley--which will account for about 10% of the state’s 1-million-acre wheat bumper crop this year--are still unclear, along with Arizona farmers, as to what will become of their crops if they are found to be infested.

California wheat farmers were expecting to harvest a bonanza this year, with wheat prices now at 20-year highs, but the fungus may severely limit their crop’s marketability.

The fate of tainted crops is still unclear, as the USDA has yet to announce any relief program for affected farmers.

The state’s wheat crop, last year valued at about $160 million, wasexpected to double in value this year.