A WORLD-CLASS facility, lauded as a powerful new tool in SA’s fruit fly prevention program, was officially opened in Port Augusta recently.
The $3.8-million Sterile Insect Facility will produce 50 million sterile male Queensland fruit flies a week at full production.
The sterile males will be shipped across the country to various fruit fly-affected regions to mate with females, reducing the likelihood of successful reproduction.
Agriculture Minister Leon Bignell opened the facility and said it would be an important tool in protecting SA’s fruit fly-free status.
“We’ve seen (fruit fly) numbers build up across the border and the more fruit fly you have in neighbouring states, the bigger the risk there is of those incursions coming into SA,” he said.
“It’s really important we have lots of different approaches in protecting and promoting our horticultural sector in SA.”
The SIT facility is part of the national SITPlus initiative involving Horticulture Innovation Australia (HIA), PIRSA, SARDI, the Vic Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources, CSIRO, Plant and Food Research Australia, NSW Department of Primary Industries and Macquarie University.
HIA chairman Selwyn Snell said the facility was part of a network of other programs designed to combat fruit fly, including baiting and radiation.
“SIT involves the strategic release of large numbers of sterile male fruit flies, ultimately limiting the opportunity for wild females to mate successfully,” he said.
The Port Augusta facility uses x-ray sterilisation as one method for achieving male sterility and flies are raised on a gel diet.
There is potential to produce sterile Mediterranean fruit flies at the facility in the future.
We’ve seen (fruit fly) numbers build up across the border, and the more fruit fly you have in neighbouring states, the bigger the risk there is of those incursions coming into SA.
- LEON BIGNELL
Mr Snell said Qld fruit fly plagued Australian horticulture.
“Each year, the Q-fly is estimated to cost the industry $300 million through damages to produce,” he said.
“Based off calls from industry, and the opportunity to engage with some of the nation’s top researchers in pest management, in 2014 HIA launched the SITPlus program with foundation projects from PFR Australia and CSIRO, plus the initial research commitment brought to the table by SARDI.
“A range of industries including citrus, cherries, apple and pear, summerfruit, tablegrapes, strawberries and vegetables were also part of the creation of the SITPlus program and key partners in the investment.”
Mr Snell said it was not only growers who stood to benefit from the SIT facility at Port Augusta, but consumers also, saying he expected to see an increase in the quality of produce making its way to shops and markets.
He said SIT technology could also be utilised to combat other insect pests, such as mosquitoes.
“It can be adapted to other insects but we’ll concentrate on where the main problems are at the moment,” Mr Snell said.
Biosecurity SA executive director Will Zacharin said the use of sterilisation techniques for fruit fly had been limited in Australia.
“With the loss of a number of long-term chemical applications to control fruit fly, it was evident that a different solution to fruit fly management had to be found,” he said.
“The design of this facility involved a number of fact-finding visits to a number of SIT facilities in Israel, Guatemala, Mexico and the United States.”
SITPlus facility manager Andrew Magarey said he expected the facility to reach full production in 2018.
“We’re still designing things like the diet area,” he said.
“We have groups from Macquarie University going through testing different diets for the eggs to be put on.
“We’ve also got other groups looking at different strains of Q-flies, including heat-resistant strains.”