State agricultural officials, rejecting the advice of scientists, announced Monday aerial malathion sprayings will end in May, a month earlier than planned, and that sterile Mediterranean fruit flies will be used instead to eradicate the pest.
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The shift in strategy conflicted sharply with recommendations made last week by five scientists advising the state in its fight against the medfly to continue spraying of the pesticide because there are not enough of the sterile flies available.But Henry Voss, director of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, said at least 200 million sterile medflies are expected to become available by the first week of May.