Compost and Apple Maggot

Compost and Apple Maggot

Compost and Apple Maggot. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report.

Earlier this year an apple maggot was found in waste material destined for a composter. That has led to some grave concerns over how this whole compost issue is handled. Washington State's Department of Agriculture contracted with three experts hoping for some guidance in the issue.

FULLER: We're at the point where we just have to have the absolute best available science on this thing to try to figure out what the right mix of operational mitigations are for the composter to put in place that's going to give the apple industry the kinds of protections that they need to continue to be successful.

That's Steve Fuller, a policy assistant to the Director of Agriculture. The expectation is that a report will be done by the end of March.

FULLER: Our goal would be to have something in place before, you know, quote-unquote apple maggot season begins in earnest next spring. The thing that everybody would like to see is a solution that's going to allow both composter and the apple industry to continue to be successful.

The composting process uses considerable heat which it's believed kills the maggots and the pupae but Fuller says they need better science.

FULLER: There's been some USDA research on that. I don't know that that's actually been published so I don't know that that has been conclusively proven to the level of scientific validity that would normally be required by international pest control standards.

That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network of the West.

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