Thread: FEDS STILL WEIGHING STATE REQUEST ON INVASIVE PEST

Feds still weighing state request on invasive pest

By: GIG CONAUGHTON and LORELL FLEMING - Staff Writers

State inspectors said Tuesday that they greatly overestimated the number of shipments of Mexican Hass avocados they had intercepted this month carrying an invasive pest called "armored scale."

However, those officials said they were still concerned that the pest could be making its way into California, and could become an economic threat to California's growers ---- including avocado growers who have been up in arms about the discovery.

At the same time, state officials said they believed it could take several weeks for federal agriculture officials to respond to the state's request for help in closing a federal border "leak" that could be letting the invasive pest into Southern California through South San Diego County.


Last week, state officials said they had rejected 11 of the 44 shipments of Mexican Hass avocados coming into California at state inspection sites because they had discovered an invasive species of armored scale ---- a flat insect that feeds by sucking the juice out of virtually all types of woody plants. The bug often doesn't look like an insect at all, but more like a bump. It is covered by a hard shell that is attached to the plant upon which the pest feeds.

State agriculture spokesman Steve Lyle said there are several species of scale pests that are already established in California. But state inspectors wanted to make sure to prevent any new pest species from getting into the state and getting established, Lyle said, because they could become an economic threat to growers statewide.

But Tuesday, Lyle said that after further study, state entomologists, or insect experts, had determined that the bugs found in 10 of the 11 rejected shipments were a species ---- San Jose scale ---- that is already established in California.

That would mean that only 9 percent of the Mexican avocado shipments searched by state inspectors contained the bug ---- not the 25 percent previously reported.

Lyle said state officials were still worried.

He also said the state was still hoping for help from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to deal with the pest.

Unlike California's Department of Agriculture, the federal government does not recognize any species of the armored scale as a dangerous pest, and does not reject commercial shipments it finds carrying the bug.

That difference in policy means the pest could be getting into California despite the state interceptions this month.

While state inspectors inspect most of the commercial products entering California, federal inspectors still man a crossing in Otay Mesa.

Last week, state officials petitioned the federal government to adopt California's position and reject any shipments discovered carrying the never-seen-in-California species.

On Tuesday, federal agriculture spokeswoman Melissa O'Dell said U.S. officials were still discussing the issue with their state counterparts.

But O'Dell also said federal officials don't see the pest as a danger because it does not move easily on its own, unlike winged pests such as the Mexican fruit fly.

"USDA does not consider this hard-scale insect to be a quarantine pest and we are not concerned with it on avocado fruit because they do not disperse well ---- they actually attach themselves to the fruit," O'Dell said.

Lyle, meanwhile, said the state expects that it could take "several weeks" for federal officials to respond to the state's request, because federal entomologists would have to conduct a scientific review.

Tom Bellamore, senior vice president for the California Avocado Commission, said local avocado growers, who fought the idea of allowing Mexican avocado imports for years, were very worried about the pest and what they might have to spend to fight it.

However, Bellamore said asking the federal government to adopt California's stance and reject shipments carrying the pest was likely to take time because federal officials had more to worry about than the avocado industry's concerns.

Bellamore said federal policy has been built on the idea that scale pests do not represent a commercial danger, and that policy was built into international trade policies, ruling imports and exports for many countries and many states.

Asked about just how much of an economic threat the new armored scale species actually posed in California, Bellamore said, "I'm not sure we know the answer to that yet."

California does have several species of scale already, and there has been little reported about the pest presenting huge problems for avocado growers. At the same time, the invasive species is already established in several other states on the East Coast ---- including Florida, which also grows avocados, although nowhere near California's production. Initial research indicated that there has been little written about scale problems for avocado growers in Florida.

Despite Lyle's assertion that the federal response could take several weeks, grower and Avocado Commission member Scott McIntyre said he was optimistic the quandary could be resolved.

"The (state) has been working with us on this and have been great," McIntyre said. "Normally, they (federal authorities) would have shut their doors on us if we came to them with something like this. But I think they are acknowledging CDFA's concerns about this pest."

Lyle, meanwhile, said, "We believe (the pest) is a threat. We wouldn't be rejecting shipments if we didn't."

Contact staff writer Gig Conaughton at (760) 739-6696 or gconaughton@nctimes.com. Contact staff writer Lorell Fleming at (760) 731-5798 or lfleming@nctimes.com. Comment at nctimes.com.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/02 ... 110145.txt

Comments On This Story

Note: Comments reflect the views of readers and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff.

Just say NO! ASK your wrote on February 21, 2007 7:52 AM:"grocer where the produce comes from and refuse to buy Mexican produce!!!!"

Wake Up DC wrote on February 21, 2007 10:14 AM:"We knew allowing these avocados into our markets had extremely high risks. As far as I'M concerned CDFA should refuse ALL shipments. It's not protectionism it's about maintaining the health of one of best crops that contributes billions to California's economy. Why aren't we protecting our own growers?"

What a shock? wrote on February 21, 2007 10:16 AM:"The people in DC have no idea how avocados are grown or what they're worth. You can't even get a ripe avocado on the East Coast. I have aken many people on tours of our agriculture in the area and they ALL have expressed surprise about it and they all end up loving guacamole. They should be listening to our state agricultural department on this one."

why you ask wrote on February 21, 2007 10:23 AM:"Q. Why aren't we protecting our own growers?" A. N A F T A"

Beware of Mexican Imports wrote on February 21, 2007 1:27 PM:"In general, anything arriving into this country from Mexico without inspection is far more likely to carry a disease or pest and will exact a far higher cost to the economy than its contribution. The feds ignore the problem and California suffers the consequences."

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Whoa! Imagine that: an invasive pest coming from Mexico and it's armored to boot - say it ain't so!