Small flies - major problem
The islands in the Pacific are ideally situated for exporting fresh fruit and vegetables to Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Canada and the United States. However, crops in all these countries are affected by fruit flies which reduce crop yields and quality. In addition importing countries impose restrictions on fruit from affected countries. There is very little trade between the islands themselves. The current ban on fumigation using dibromide ethylene imposed by several importing countries has led to several of the nearby markets being closed to products from many of the Pacific Islands. The FAO and the Australian Development Aid Bureau, UNDP and the South Pacific Commission have set up programmes to collect and publicize information on fruit flies, their hosts and their economic importance. Under these programmes countries can lay down scientifically based quarantine agreements . One of the most promising new methods of treatment involves what is known as high temperature forced-air treatment. It can be combined with biological control and other integrated control methods. A system based on putting out protein bait has enabled losses of guava to be reduced from 40% to under 5%, mango from 25% to under 5% and peppers from 92% to under 4%. This method reduces the amount of insecticide residue in fruit and only requires the use of simple spraying equipment, which is very suitable for agricultural subsistence economies. FAO Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 00100 Rome, ITALY
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| Format: | News Item biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
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Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation
1995
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/47117 http://collections.infocollections.org/ukedu/en/d/Jcta58e/ |
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