Sunraysia households urged to join fruit fly fight
The mass trapping aims to saturate urban areas with traps for male and female Queensland fruit fly in a concerted campaign to reduce numbers and damage from the devastating horticultural pest.
The Greater Sunraysia Pest Free Area Industry Development Committee is coordinating the campaign. This comes after a successful trial held at Swan Hill last year.
An education program will be developed for schools to promote the fruit fly message, and strengthen “the link between farms and the community”.
The Greater Sunraysia Pest Free Area includes the horticultural areas from Mildura and Wentworth to Kerang in northwest Victoria.
Since March, the PFA Committee has collected and administered a $3-a-tonne levy from citrus, stone fruit and table grapes to fund services aimed at reinstating and maintaining the PFA.
The PFA lost its “pest free” status last year after the number of fruit fly detections spiralled out of control and the government decided to suspend the PFA while it conducted eradication works. The pest free status is yet to be reinstated.
Source: weeklytimesnow.com.au