Summerfruit biosecurity plan review (SF25001)
This project will renew the national Summerfruit Biosecurity Plan to ensure the industry remains prepared for harmful exotic pests.
Completed project
Sustainable management of Medfly without cover sprays (MT12012)
Publication date: December 14, 2018
Delivery Partner: Western Australian Agriculture Authority
Since the 1960s, dimethoate and fenthion have been used by apple and pear, stone fruit and mango growers for pre-harvest and post-harvest control of Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly). The loss of these insecticides in 2011 and 2015, respectively, makes Medfly more difficult to control in highly susceptible crops.
This project developed and tested several pre-harvest control tactics that could assist growers of Medfly host crops in Western Australia. Parts of an area wide management program were tested in pome and stone fruit orchards in Jarrahdale in the Perth Hills, and mass trapping was trialled in an area within the Jarrahdale town-site.
Traps showed when and where Medfly was abundant, and provided feedback on how effective the control measures were.
The main findings of the program were:
The researchers concluded that growers should adopt area wide management of Medfly even if the whole area is not involved, since trials showed that even small groups of growers achieved suppression with weekly to twice weekly applications of bait sprays.
This multi-industry project was a strategic levy investment in multiple Hort Innovation Funds
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