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Since then, the insect has been found
in nine counties throughout the state, including the
Napa Valley, the famous wine-producing region. It has
a voracious appetite, chomping its way through everything
from apple, almond, avocado and apricot trees to strawberry,
tomato, pumpkin and cabbage plants.
About 250 varieties of plants are thought to be at
risk, along with the state's $5.4 billion apple, pear,
orange and grape industry.
The state's department of food and agriculture says
that the moth has the potential to devastate California's
natural ecosystems. The use of pesticides to combat
the "exotic pest invader" would result in
"environmental damage".
The state is America's leading agricultural exporter,
shipping more than $7.2 billion in food and agricultural
commodities around the world.
"It is a significant pest of wine grapes,"
Greg Clark, the assistant Napa county agricultural commissioner,
told the New York Times. "If we have an infestation
here, it's likely it could move into other agricultural
regions."
Organic pesticides are already being sprayed in Oakley,
in the Bay Area, and Napa. . Crops from affected counties
are being quarantined.
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk
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