Apple moth quarantine moves into the San Joaquin Valley

The Brown Apple Moth quarantine that has bedeviled Sonoma grapegrowers has been extended to the San Joaquin Valley.

The Packer is reporting that, “For the first time since the pest was discovered in the San Francisco Bay area in February 2007, the California Department of Food and Agriculture has expanded the light brown apple moth quarantine into a portion of the San Joaquin Valley, the state’s largest fruit producing area.

“The new quarantine boundaries include 18 square miles in and around Manteca, Calif.

“’The quarantine area is primarily the city of Manteca, but that’s within ten miles of commercial apple orchards’, said Alex Ott, president of the California Apple Commission, Fresno.”

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