Australian Stonefruit Grower Magazine Issue 4 April 2017 | Page 22

Resources
Managing
fruit fly
One of the problems with fruit flies is that they are highly
polyphagous. That means, they attack pretty well any
fruit they can manage to stick their ovipositor into.
Fruit Fly Management
for Vegetable Growers
F
ruit flies are not just a pest for stonefruit growers, but
also affect growers of apples, mangos, strawberries,
passionfruit, citrus and so the list goes on. Hosts even
include fruiting vegetables such as capsicums, chillies and
cucumbers.
Horticulture Innovation Australia recently funded two
projects into new in-field solutions to control fruit fly,
using the vegetable R&D levy and contributions from
the Australian Government. Some of the options tested
included insecticides, perimeter baiting, light traps and
netting. So, for example, it was shown that applying bait at
different heights influences its effectiveness, while nets can
provide both a visual and physical barrier to flies entering a
crop.
The findings are summarised in a 32-page booklet
entitled "Fruit fly management for vegetable growers".
Produced by Applied Horticultural Research (AHR) as part
of the project, the booklet describes the options available to
producers of fruiting vegetables, and some of the pros and
cons of each strategy.
Of course, there are obvious differences between a
peach orchard and a capsicum crop. However, information
on different species, lifecycle, fly behaviour, monitoring
and telling the difference between a fruit fly maggot and a
THE BOOKLET
CAN BE
DOWNLOADED
FROM THE AHR
WEBSITE AT
ahr.com.au/pests-
and-diseases/fruit-fly-
management-for-vegetable-growers-new/
The key practices described in the guide are
further demonstrated in a series of five short
YouTube videos on controlling fruit fly in
vegetables. These can also be viewed through
the AHR website and cover topics including:
1. Targeted control.
2. Monitoring.
3. Food-based baits.
4. Male annihilation and female-biased traps.
5. Netting, repellents and field hygiene.
Copies of the booklet and videos will be
available at Hort Connections 2017 in Adelaide,
as well as at field days and other events.
vinegar fly maggot is just as useful for stonefruit growers.
22
Australian Stonefruit Grower | April 2017
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