AFTER being free of fruit fly until 2018, Koraleigh residents are fighting to slow the spread of the destructive insect.
After three years of La Nina conditions from 2020 to 2022, Bungunyah Koraleigh Irrigation Trust has seen a “rapid increase” in the number of Queensland fruit flies in the area.
BKIT has matched a $3000 grant from Murray River Council to fight the pest.
It has created a tree-removal program that targets one of the first host trees to produce fruit after winter, loquats.
BKIT secretary Lisa Howieson said nine mature loquat trees had been removed or heavily pruned.
“The tree-removal program is invaluable in our fight to reduce numbers of fruit fly in our area.
“Replacement ‘non-fruiting’ trees will be supplied to residents that had trees removed, mostly trees that provide shade or bird-bee habitat,” Ms Howieson said.
“Early host trees make the difference between fruit fly that survive winter being able to start reproducing in spring.
“One female fruit fly that manages to survive winter, mate, and lay eggs into host fruit in early spring can be responsible for up to one million fruit flies by the following winter.”
Ms Howieson said not all loquat trees could be entirely removed and BKIT had been working with the community to fight fruit fly in other ways.
“Several other loquat trees have either been covered in insect exclusion netting or had immature fruit removed to avoid infestation.
“BKIT has been actively involved in assisting locals to trap Qfly, monitor numbers, and provide management tools to reduce Qfly numbers.
“We have also dedicated resources to educate locals on fruit-tree management to reduce fruit-fly infestation and have created a dedicated fruit-fly website that contains lots of information and news.
“We now have a mix of more than 130 male and female Qfly traps in place, and about 90 per cent participation in our trapping program from residents who have fruit trees.
“Already, since July 1 this year, we have had reported trappings of more than 100 fruit flies.”
Ms Howieson said she was confident that the work of local residents, Murray River Council and BKIT would be enough to slow the spread of fruit fly in the area.
“We are confident that our location, being surrounded mainly by broadacre farms, combined with the efforts of locals and help from the Murray River Council Community Grants Program, will see a reduction in numbers and damage caused by fruit fly over the coming season.”
For more information regarding fruit fly, and the efforts to stop damage to local fruit, visit fruitfly.bkit.com.au
