Over 1,200 acres of citrus groves under quarantine in Pe?itas and La Feria
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Harvest season means picking the fruits that have spent months growing across the Rio Grande Valley so they can be sold.
But for some citrus growers in Peñitas and La Feria, they are not allowed to move their fruit because they are under quarantine.
In December, the U.S. Department of Agriculture enacted the quarantine areas after Mexican fruit fly larvae were found in a sour orange in a residential property in Peñitas and in a commercial grove in La Feria.
According to the USDA, a total of 177 square miles of land across those two cities with over 1,200 acres of commercial citrus are under quarantine.
“Everything stops in the sense that you can't pick the fruit anymore until USDA comes in and certifies it,” Edinburg Citrus Grove Care Manager Jose Silva said.
Silva manages different citrus groves across the Valley. Seventy acres of land he manages in La Feria are under quarantine.
“That kinda puts a kink in your harvesting schedule because we're scheduled to pick these groves and all of a sudden we can't,” Silva said.
According to the USDA, Mexican fruit fly larvae eat the insides of the fruit, causing the fruit to decay.
Growers need to follow certain protocols by USDA in order to get out of the quarantine so they can start moving fruit again. Protocols include stopping movement and spraying against the invasive pest.
Silva said he’s losing money as the quarantine remains in effect.
“It is significant, and also we have to keep in mind that these groves need to be picked whenever they're ready to be picked,” Silva said. “If it extends for another 30 days, which means maybe some fruit dropped, we lose fruit."
The quarantine has affected eight commercial growers in Peñitas and 61 in La Feria.
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