VALLEY CENTER - State agriculture officials have expanded and established quarantines in northern San Diego County to counter two insect infestations.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture announced Wednesday that the quarantines were intended to minimize the spread of the Asian citrus psyllid and the Mediterranean fruit fly.
An existing 7,500-square-mile psyllid quarantine covering parts of three counties was expanded by nearly 1,000 square miles after the pest was trapped in the Valley Center area. The psyllid can carry a disease fatal to lemon and orange trees.
The psyllid quarantine overlaps with a 9-square-mile area near the town of Fallbrook where three Mediterranean fruit flies were trapped. The fly can harm citrus plants and hundreds of other fruits and vegetables.
Agricultural shipments from the quarantine zones are restricted, according to the CDFA.
The quarantine requires that local residents not move home-grown fruits and vegetables from their properties and instead consume them on site, according to the CDFA.
Additionally, the CDFA is working with local growers, packing houses, transporters and farmers' markets to ensure they are complying with quarantine regulations.
State agricultural officials have begun treating quarantine areas.
Medflies can infest more than 260 types of fruits and vegetables. Asian citrus psyllid can carry the disease huanglongbing, also known as citrus greening disease, which can cause diseased trees to produce inedible fruit and ultimately die.
