2 San Joaquin orchards get Medfly quarantine

Officials have quarantined a 260-square-mile area arund two infested apricot orchards in the crop-rich San Joaquin Valley in a bid to corral the slant-winged Mediterranean fruit fly before it can bite into California's $14 billion fruit and vegetable industry, which is at the peak of its harvest.

Officials termed "disastrous" the discovery of three fertile male Medflies -- the first to turn up in a commercial farming operation.

In a related development in Florida, a new Medfly find was made near Tampa, where a malathion spray program like California's is being used in a bid to to cut the infestation early.