Page 52 - SA Fruit Journal VOLUME 14

New bubbling system has increased efficacy in production by an average of 1.5-2%.runs at a far lower cost per million flies pro- duced than previously expected. Quality of the flies produced is on par with international standards and for some quality control pa- rameters even exceeds these standards.As part of the more aggressive winter strategy FFA also utilized more M3 attract-and-kill baiting stations during the winter months the past couple of seasons. The rationale behind this is the same as for the increase in sterile releases during these periods.The amount of aerial applications of GF- 120 in all areas also increased from 2010 until present. It has undoubtedly made a substan- tial contribution to the lower population levels that now prevail within these areas. It is how-believe that exclusion of exotic pests is the best solution but there are a number of hur- dles to overcome if the philosophy is to be applied locally. The advent of sophisticated area-wide pest management programmes was evident as was the effective applica-Starter packs for seeding colony eggs have resulted in better quality pupae.ever worth mentioning that these applications are far more effective in areas where the whole area is covered. Full producer participation within an area is thus of utmost importance. Producers should also remember that to get the best results from aerial baiting, the right ground baiting program should also be in place. Please consult your chemical agent or FFA area coordinator in this regard.Orchard sanitation and fruit fly control within urban areas most certainly also played a big role in successfully bringing down pop- ulation levels in most areas. Area-wide co- ordination, communication, education pro- jects and the dissemination of fruit fly counts are the factors that play the biggest part intion of SIT. Aspects such as real time deci- sion support systems and the integration of research, technical support and farm pest management are all needed. There is a need to reassess our approach to area-wide pest management; we need an open debate re-New lighting in adult room has increased egg production per cage to such an extent that fewer flies per cage lay the same amount of eggs as before lighting was changed. Fewer flies per cage translates into better quality offspring.accomplishing the above mentioned. Area-wide population control of mobile pests can never be a success without the sup- port and cooperation of all individual pro- ducers within the area. The results shown at the beginning of this text highlight the fact that producers are mostly doing what needs to be done. Moving forward to even greater fruit fly suppression, let’s keep the successes of the past in mind, but remember that con- tinuous improvement is needed to further enhance population control and make itmore cost effective.garding fruit fly management and research on the subject.Finally I would like to thank Hortgro for allowing me to attend the symposium, I would also like to thank the South Africans who at- tended and contributed to the symposium.TECHNOLOGY 49 FEB | MARCH 2015