Lure and cure fruit fly with GF-120TM
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By Carine Joubert
When a farmer does not implement preventive measures on his farm, fruit fly will cause him annual losses running into many thousands of rand. It may even be necessary to close his packing sheds until the pest is again under control. However, Paul Hansen of Halaron Farms near Addo in the Eastern Cape, knows that his citrus will be safe – it is guarded by the application of GF-120TM, a Dow AgroSciences fruit fly lure.
Paul, a research biologist, was one of the researchers who tested GF-120TM before is release in the market place. Paul has been using GF-120TM for longer than ten years now and says he has no problems with fruit fly.
Farmers in the Sundays River Valley have problems at times with the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata. The agricultural section of SRCC has coordinated aerial spraying of GF120TM for an extended period of time in the SRV, says André Combrinck, chief agronomist of the SRCC. He is of the opinion that the product is efficient and easy to use.
GF-120TM is registered to control all four fruit fly species presently found in South Africa. It also includes the new pest, Bactrocera dorsalis.
The control of the fruit fly is imperative and all farmers in the region cooperate to ensure that the pest does not get out of control. Apart from GF-120TM ground spats used by most farmers, André Combrinck coordinates three area-wide air applications per season on behalf of the SRCC. It is especially when the GF-120TM lure is applied over a large area in a short period of time that population pressure management is worth being mentioned. The secret of effective fruit fly management is to start early before the fly’s population pressure becomes too high.
Paul Hansen, of Halaron Farms, Addo, Eastern Cape, knows his citrus is safe because he sprays GF-120TM, a fruit fly lure from the Dow AgroSciences stable.
Lure and cure
Paul is of the opinion that the success of GF-120TM lies in the fact that fruit flies greedily rush towards the GF-120TM droplets when they are lured by the release of ammonia. The active ingredient, spinosad, then kills the fruit flies in no time. It is also important to apply GF-120TM before fruit flies have the opportunity to mate; a female that already has eggs in her body does not try to find food but looks for a fitting place to lay her eggs.
Fruit flies can produce up to six generations in one season. When fruit fly females breed without intervention, millions of young flies are born in a single season. With the air spraying of GF-120TM in the Sundays River Valley, and the cooperation of the growers in the area with their ground application of GF-120TM, the valley’s farmers are satisfied that they are following the best strategy to manage the pest effectively.
Producers in the SRV are kept well-informed about their fly counts and this information is used to establish when they have to apply ground applications of GF120TM. This means that there is no escape for the fruit fly.
GF-120TM is also a safe product to use. The protein attracts no other insect; thus no environmentally friendly insects are killed. With GF-120TM there also is a zero withdrawal period before products are regarded safe for human consumption, which means it can be applied on the day of harvest.
A further advantage to the farmer is that GF-120TM is an affordable product. There are organisations that make it their business to undertake splash application for farmers. However, it is important that farmers make sure the splash application equipment is correctly calibrated to deliver optimal drop size.
Only one litre of GF-120TM is used on a hectare of land and with aerial application the farmer requires a minimum labour to undertake the important splash work.
Paul says that aerial application of GF 120TM furthermore even controls fruit fly in overgrown, bushy orchards.
With the cooperative effort of growers, the excellent Dow AgroSciences product, and unstinting support of their local distributor, farmers of the Sundays River Valley can concentrate on their farming without losing too much sleep because of fruit fly infestation.
More information available from landline 021-860-3620 or 012-683-5700 or visit the website www.dowagro.co.za
Where orchards are so overgrown that a small trolley cannot even move through the trees, fruit fly infestation is bowled out by aerial spraying.
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