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The Honolulu Advertiser

Updated at 5:01 p.m., Wednesday, May 2, 2007

USDA orders inspection of all Isle plant exports

Advertiser Staff

All Mainland-bound plant materials, including lei, cut flowers, fruits and vegetables, will have to be visually inspected before leaving Hawai'i under an order by the U.S. Department of Agriculture aimed at preventing the spread of a type of moth.

The order was issued after the detection last month of the light brown apple moth in several counties in California, according to a news release from the state Department of Agriculture.

"We are notifying local nurseries about the quarantine order and the increased inspection requirements," said Sandra Lee Kunimoto, chairwoman of the Hawaii Board of Agriculture. "We are also trying to coordinate with the local USDA inspection offices on how the quarantine order will be enforced," she said.

The light brown apple moth was first detected in Hawai'i more than a century ago, but has not been a significant pest here.