From The Harvester, November 1967

CALIFORNIA BARS FLORIDA FRUIT

In 1967, Caribbean fruit fly larvae were found in Florida guavas on their way to California. Shipments from Florida were subsequently banned. -Photo credit UF/IFAS

November 1967 — The California Department of Agriculture has placed a quarantine on all Florida-produced fruits, with the exception of certain commodities grown, packed and shipped on a commercial basis.

The ban followed the detection in California, August 24, of Caribbean fruit fly larvae in guavas shipped from Florida.

California border stations and terminal inspection points will admit only Florida-produced fruit that has been fumigated under supervision of, and properly certified by, Florida Division of Plant Industry (DPI).

California DPI chief Allen Lemmon stressed that the Florida agency must keep the caribfly out of California. Lemmon said further restrictions would be applied if provisions of the quarantine were not met to the letter.

Exemptions to the ban are avocados, bell peppers, citrus (except calamondins and kumquats), mangoes, and tomatoes. To be exempt, these items must be grown in commercial plantings, packed in commercial packinghouses, and shipped in commercial lots by commercial carrier.

The exemptions are not favored hosts of the caribfly and most commercial plantings are outside the heavily infested areas.

The quarantine requires that all Florida-produced fruits not on the exempted list be certified by Florida DPI as being grown and packed outside the infested area or have been fumigated under DPI supervision.

Calamondins and kumquats, commonly used as decorative items in gift boxes shipped out of Florida, are favored hosts of the caribfly. Gift packages containing these or any other items on the host list will not be certified by DPI unless the fruit has been fumigated under DPI supervision.