Fruit removal started today in Gilroy to protect the spread of
the European Grapevine Moth that forced a Sept. 23 Santa Clara
County quarantine of grapes.
Fruit removal started today in Gilroy to protect the spread of the European Grapevine Moth that forced a Sept. 23 Santa Clara County quarantine of grapes.
The removal, which is centered on the eradication of the fruit from backyard grapevines on several Gilroy properties, will continue Thursday by officials from the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
The three moths that sparked the quarantine were discovered Sept. 15 and 17 in Jason-Stephens Wineries and Kirigin Cellars in Gilroy.
The quarantine has also been set over a larger, 94-square-mile area surrounding the properties where the moths were detected and primarily affects grape farmers, transporters, processors and others who handle agricultural commodities that could harbor or spread the pest.
“This pest is capable of rapidly infesting entire vineyards and rendering their grapes unfit for consumption, so we are working quickly to get ahead of the infestation by removing the grape clusters that the moth needs to feed and breed on,” said CDFA Secretary A.G. Kawamura.
All bulk grapes, harvest bins and equipment must follow rules for leaving the quarantined area after Kevin O’Day, acting Santa Clara County agricultural commissioner, announced the quarantine and eradication plan Sept. 23.
The boundaries of the quarantine in Santa Clara County are Llagas Road in Morgan Hill on the north, Foothill Avenue and New Avenue in Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy on the east, Miller Avenue in Gilroy on the south and the Santa Clara-Santa Cruz County line on the west.
The European Grapevine Moth, first discovered in California during a Sept. 2009 quarantine in Napa, is dormant in winter. They house themselves in wine grape clusters, feed on ripening grapes and expose them to further damage through fungal infections in the spring, according to O’Day. The moths can cause the grapes to brown and rot and can ruin an entire crop if they reproduce and spread.
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