US: Washington apple growers fear apple maggot

A tiny bug found in Pasco is making officials all over the state jump to high alert.

The culprit: An apple maggot, a feared pest that to the untrained eye looks much like a fruit fly.

The problem: The insect could be a major headache for nearby orchardists, and potentially threatens the state's top agricultural commodity.

Yakima and Kittitas counties already are under quarantine for the fly, which means growers there have to certify their fruit doesn't have the pest before it can be shipped to other states or countries.

The maggot was found in a Washington State Department of Agriculture insect trap earlier this month, but only identified last week, said Tom Wilson, coordinator of the Franklin County Horticultural Pest and Disease Control Board.

This is the first apple maggot found in Franklin County, he said. After the discovery was confirmed, state officials launched into action.

The four trees at Road 52 and Argent Road in Pasco will be removed today, and about 60 traps will be set up within a half-mile of the original catch. Each trap will be checked about every third day.

If a bug is found in one of the traps, another half-mile trapping system will be set around that area and so on. Trapping is done in half-mile increments because the flies are not strong fliers.

The four trees' fruit was removed last week and will be kept in isolated containers and monitored to determine if there is a reproducing population.

The four culprit trees belonged to an elderly couple, Wilson said. The husband, who was a Master Gardener and cared for the trees, died earlier this spring, he said. His surviving wife was unable to care for the trees.

"Anybody could have got the bug; it's not her fault," Wilson said.

Mary Toohey, WSDA assistant director, said this was the first maggot found in the Tri-Cities since one was trapped in 1999 in Kennewick. "We worry a lot about finding reproducing populations," she said.

Miles Kohl, executive director of the Yakima Valley Growers-Shippers Association, said the certification process growers must comply with takes more time in the orchards and extra care in packing sheds. It also cuts into an already thin profit margin for the growers.

"Canada is a country that is very concerned about apple maggot, and that's a large export market for us," Kohl said.

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