Coordination Meeting For Reviewing Cadmium Issues In Potatoes & Vegetables
1 July 1999
This project was initiated to meet a recognised national need for improvements in baiting technology for controlling fruit flies. More effective, longer lasting, lower toxicity baits were required for field control in endemic areas and for eradication and suppression programs in fruit fly exclusion areas in southern Australia. The project involved collaboration between fruit fly researchers from three state departments of agriculture – Department of Primary Industries Queensland, New South Wales Agriculture, and Agriculture Western Australia. USDA researchers with specialist expertise in fruit fly bait formulation were involved in a technical advisory capacity.
The project involved testing two newly developed bait products to obtain residue and efficacy data for registration application for these products in Australia. These new baits were GF-120 (marketed as Naturalure Fruit Fly Bait Concentrate by Dow AgroSciences) and Bactrogel-P (now Amulet Fruit Fly Gel marketed by BASF). These new baits contain thickeners designed to enhance the longevity of baits and incorporate new generation low toxicity insecticides (spinosad in Naturalure bait and fipronil in the Amulet Gel). These new insecticides are many times less toxic than those currently used in baits which means this new bait technology will provide environmental advantages and consumer health benefits.
The new baits were tested against a current standard bait in a range of fruit fly host crops (citrus, pome fruit, custard apples, passionfruit, blueberries, mangoes and stone fruit) against Queensland fruit fly in Queensland and New South Wales and against Mediterranean fruit fly in Western Australia. Both baits were shown to provide effective fruit fly control, and based on the project results both commercial collaborators are now applying for registration of these new products. Additional research by DPI showed that the new bait formulations are much less toxic to beneficial insects than current bait formulations which means the new baits will be highly compatible with Integrated Pest Management programs. The Naturalure bait recently obtained organic certification in Australia which will provide very significant benefits in both commercial production and in eradication and suppression programs.
Other research undertaken by DPI and NSW Ag investigated means of improving the currently used generic baits. Glasshouse trials conducted by DPI showed the addition of an inexpensive, commercially available thickener resulted in a 20-30 % improvement in bait performance six days after bait application to the foliage of host trees. This appears to be the most promising method of improving generic baits and was further shown to provide effective control in field trials in highly susceptible stone fruit in the Central Burnett. Laboratory cage tests carried out by NSW Agriculture showed that bait attractancy could be improved by the addition of ammonium acetate or sucrose and also confirmed that the longevity of baits could be improved by adding thickeners to increase moisture retention.
The phytotoxicity of new and older bait formulations was evaluated in a wide range of fruit fly host crops. Although thickened baits generally outperform standard baits, they are more likely to cause damage in sensitive crops (eg mangoes, custard apples, stone fruit) and care must be taken to avoid contact with fruit when applying bait in these crops.
In an extension to the project in Year 3, DPI carried out a range of preliminary activities related to the area-wide fruit fly management program which recently commenced in the Central Burnett citrus growing region. Data from this research such as district wide trap catches and fruit fly infestation levels in backyard trees in town areas will be used to plan treatment strategies.
This project has been funded by Hort Innovation, using the research and development levies listed below and contributions from the Australian Government. Hort Innovation is the grower-owned, not-for-profit research and development corporation for Australian horticulture.