This is the VOA SpecialEnglish AGRICULTURE REPORT.
The United States Department of Agriculture has banned the importof clementine oranges from Spain. The action was taken after liveMediterranean fruit fly larvae were found in some of the importedfruit.
American officials also bannedsales of Spanish clementines in seventeen states where the weatheris warm enough for the insects to survive. The ban also is in effectin the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
The Agriculture Department suspended imports after larvae werefound in Spanish clementines in Maryland, North Carolina, Louisianaand California.
Clementine oranges have become increasingly popular in the UnitedStates in recent years. Some Americans give the small, seedlessfruits as gifts during the holiday season.
The Mediterranean Fruit Fly is also known as the Medfly. It isone of the world’s most destructive threats to agriculture. Itleaves its eggs in more than two-hundred different kinds of fruits,nuts and vegetables.
The female fruit fly can produce as many as one-thousand eggs inher lifetime. She usually leaves her eggs in fruit that is still onthe tree. She makes holes in the skin of the fruit and leaves two tosix eggs in each hole. Larvae develop from the eggs. The larvae eattheir way through the fruit, causing it to drop to the ground. Thelarvae later dig holes in the ground. When they come out, they areadult Medflies.
The Mediterranean fruit fly lives in warm climates. Scientistsbelieve the Medfly developed in west Africa. Long ago, it spread tonorthern and southern Africa, southern Europe and Asia. The UnitedStates has no established Medfly populations. So agricultureofficials work hard to prevent the spread of the insects from othercountries.
Medflies can destroy a complete crop unless farmers use methodsto control the insects as soon as they are known to be in thearea.There are several methods to control Medflies. Farmers oftenspray chemicals to kill the insects. Several other insects candestroy Medfly larvae. Another method of control involves the use ofmale Medflies that come from eggs treated by radiation. The treatedflies cannot reproduce. Farmers also use special traps to controlMedflies. These devices use smells to trick the flies into enteringthe traps.
This VOA Special English AGRICULTURE REPORT was written by GeorgeGrow.