In this section:
Mediterranean Fruit Fly
Developing the sterile insect technique for eradication of incursions of Mediterranean fruit fly in South Australia
Dennis C Hopkins (Project Leader) & Catherine Smallridge (Research Entomologist) and Vanessa Cockington (Research Officer)
Summary
The sterile insect technique (SIT) is a method of pest control that has been developed for use against medfly populations around the world. It is based on the premise that flooding a wild population with sterile individuals will mean that a large proportion of the wild, fertile insects will mate with the sterile individuals, and the reduced reproductive output will eventually lead to local population extinction. Variability in medfly populations, habitats and environmental conditions between SIT program locations worldwide requires that background research must be carried out for every SIT initiative.
Project aims
- to work collaboratively with the Western Australian Department of Agriculture to develop SIT for medfly control
- to develop a cost-effective strategy for the use of SIT in medfly eradication in South Australia
- to pursue the adoption of environmentally acceptable pesticides, in place of malathion, for use in eradication procedures wherever insecticides are necessary.
