News
By Penny Measham
The SITPlus facility in Port Augusta , SA .
Game-changer for Q-fly management
South Australia ’ s world-leading $ 3.8 million fruit fly facility will provide a new line of defence against one of horticulture ’ s most damaging pests .
The centre , opened in November , will produce 50 million sterile male Queensland fruit flies each week . The flies will be released to mate with females , collapsing wild populations in fruit fly affected horticulture growing regions .
South Australia is the only mainland state to be declared fruit fly-free with the State Government committing around $ 5 million each year to fight the threat of fruit fly .
The SIT facility is supported by SITplus , a national research and development effort , which now has a combined program budget of $ 45 million . Research undertaken at the SIT facility is a game-changer for the future management of Queensland fruit fly .
The SITPlus program is led by Horticulture Innovation Australia Ltd , in partnership with Primary Industries and Regions SA , South Australian Research and Development Institute , Victorian Department of Economic Development , Jobs , Transport and Resources , CSIRO ,
Plant and Food Research Australia , NSW Department of Primary Industries and Macquarie University – all with interconnected interests in the development and uptake of science solutions for the management of Q-fly .
“ To develop the centre , our researchers travelled to Austria , Spain , Israel , Guatemala , Mexico and the USA to investigate similar , leading operations ,” Horticulture Innovation Australia Chairman Selwyn Snell said .
“ This facility combines all the best aspects of that research , making it one of the most progressive and advanced in the world .
“ The $ 45 million SITplus initiative complements this state-of-the-art facility with cutting-edge fly production and release technology development .”
Each year , the pest is estimated to cost the industry more than $ 300 million in lost markets and through damaged produce both pre-and post-harvest . summerfruit . com . au December 2016 | Australian Stonefruit Grower 21