Managing fruit fly will become a community responsibility following the suspended use of dimethoate on a number of crops.
Dow AgroSciences’ Technical Manager for Horticulture, Paul Downard, said that while the decision will have a significant impact on the horticultural industry, there are measures that can be taken for fruit fly management.
“Dow AgroSciences has recently been given permits for two products that play a role in fruit fly suppression,” Paul said.
“Delegate™ Insecticide provides some knockdown of fruit flies at application and some residual protection against female fruit flies looking for oviposition sites on fruit; and Success™ NEO, launched in June, is a new generation insecticide for chewing insects.”
Paul said that optimum fruit fly management will require a systems approach, with the industry and wider community working together.
“We also have a well established product, Naturalure™—a fruit fly bait concentrate that when used as part of an area-wide management system, can produce effective results.”
The recommended systems approach involves growers in local areas working together to adopt suppression practices. Community education is also a necessary part of the overall approach to managing fruit fly infestations effectively.
“There’s no silver bullet when it comes to managing fruit fly. We need to make the community aware that they play a role in helping to reduce pest pressure. Simple practices such as removing abandoned fruit trees and spraying infested fruit with commercially available products in both orchards and urban properties can make an area-wide difference.”
For more information, see the November 2011 issue of Tree Fruit
