Local News in Brief : Strategy Against Whitefly Mapped

Agriculture officials from the state and several Southern California counties concluded Thursday that they must locate a natural enemy of the ash whitefly to prevent serious damage to the state’s deciduous fruit crops.

The ash whitefly, native to the Mediterranean, was unknown in North America until one was spotted last July in Van Nuys. By early December, others were found in San Diego, Orange and San Bernardino counties.

At a meeting in Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner Leon Spaugy’s office in El Monte, Deputy Commissioner Bob Atkins said, representatives of other counties and the state agreed that some sort of pesticide control will be necessary in the short run. But for the long term, a parasite or natural predator must be introduced. Although Los Angeles County already has put up $10,000 to fight the ash whitefly, Atkins said, it may cost as much as $100,000 a year for two or three years to do the job in the four counties affected.

Initially, he said, someone must go to the Mediterranean region to research control methods being used by officials there, and then further study will be needed to ensure that bringing a predator here will not create new problems.