Final report: Improved Protein Bait Formulations for Fruit Fly Control

11 November 2003

Project Code

AH00012

Short Summary

Investigation of more effective fruit fly baits.

Year Published

2003

Project Provider

QLD Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries

Attachment

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Two new fruit fly bait products GF-120 (now called Naturalure Fruit Fly Bait Concentrate produced by Dow AgroSciences) and Bactrogel-P (now called Amulet Fruit Fly Gel produced by BASF) were evaluated against a current standard bait in a range of fruit fly host crops (citrus, pome fruit, custard apples, passionfruit, blueberries, mangoes and stone fruit) in Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia.
The new baits were shown to be attractive and toxic to both Qfly and Medfly and both provided effective field control. Results are now being used by the respective commercial partners to apply for registration of these products in Australia.
In laboratory tests, the new baits which contain “soft” insecticides (spinosad in Naturalure and fipronil in Amulet Gel) were much less toxic to five species of beneficial insects than the currently used bait/insecticide formulations. This means the new products will be highly compatible with Integrated Pest Management programs. Naturalure recently obtained organic certification in Australia which will provide many benefits in commercial production and in eradication programs, particularly in urban areas.
Generic bait performance was shown to be significantly improved by the addition of thickeners. An inexpensive, commercially available xanthan gum (Keltrol) at 0.5% increased the efficacy of generic baits by approximately 25% at 6 days after application. This will provide significant benefits for growers at times of high fruit fly pressure when weekly baiting may not provide acceptable control.
Extensive testing of new baits and of thickened generic baits on foliage and /or fruit of fifteen different hosts showed that thickened baits (particularly GF-120) are more likely to cause phytotoxicity in sensitive crops such as mangoes, custard apples, and stone fruit.
In glasshouse trials, abamectin was shown to have potential as an alternative toxicant for fruit fly baits. At very low concentrations (4.5ppm as currently registered for mite control in citrus) with thickener and standard yeast protein, abamectin performed as well as current standard baits without thickener. Abamectin at this level has minimal impact on beneficial insects in IPM programs. The addition of ammonium acetate and sucrose to generic baits improved bait attractancy under laboratory conditions and glasshouse tests showed Hy-Mal and yeast concentrations in generic bait formulations could be reduced without loss of bait efficacy. These bait modifications require testing under field conditions.
The new baits and generic baits with and without thickener at different application rates were evaluated in large scale field trials carried out by DPI in stone fruit at Mundubbera. • DPI researchers collaborated with growers to devise the most effective bait application equipment for thickened baits in both small and larger orchards. Details of equipment and recommendations for use are provided.
In a Year 3 extension to the original project, DPI carried out preliminary studies on several issues related to the implementation of an area-wide fruit fly management program in the Central Burnett. This research evaluated the effects of preliminary Male Annihilation Technology (MAT) implementation, compared two types of MAT carriers and six different trap designs, and quantified fruit fly infestation in untreated backyard fruit trees in the towns of Gayndah and Mundubbera. The results will be important in planning AWM strategies.