8: From root to fruit – 20 years of success story of organic fruit fly control

FROM ROOT TO FRUIT – 20 YEARS OF SUCCESS STORY OF ORGANIC FRUIT FLY CONTROL
P.Rendon, L.Gomez & E.Castaneda

SUMMARY
Fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) are among the most widely distributed pests harming world agriculture. The Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Wied) “medfly” in particular has a long list of reported alternate hosts (>350). It causes direct losses to the agricultural production as well as indirect economic impacts due to the lifting of trade restrictions to fruit movement aiming to avoid wider pest distribution.
To control “medfly” population growth and avoid its dispersal, bait sprays applied by ground and season-defined aerial bait sprays are conducted, followed by the release of sterile insects (sterile insect technique -SIT).
The development of spinosad based products deriving from soil-samples of the gram-positive bacteria Saccharopolyspora spinosa are at the root of this endeavor. The findings allowed the production of organic pesticides that can be used to safely reduce pest populations and to extend the control tool box to several other fruit fly species. Organic fruit production is favored, facilitating the field application and achievement of action program results due to the product green label credentials.
The application of GF-120 in combination with the SIT has allowed to reduce fruit fly populations, increase organic fruit production, trade and economic growth, helping to lift quarantine restrictions in areas that were considered fruit fly infested.
Application of these tools and strategies used to control the “medfly” at the Moscamed action Program in Guatemala are presented and discussed.