SWAN Hill home gardeners have been urged to take extra steps in summer to protect their produce from Queensland fruit fly.
Agriculture Victoria statewide fruit fly coordinator Cathy Mansfield said plants such as tomatoes crop for months, so it’s important to protect them for the entire season.
“Remove damaged fruit on trees, vines or on the ground, as it might be harbouring fruit fly,” she said.
“Each female fruit fly can lay hundreds of eggs in her lifetime, so every maggot you destroy helps save your own crops and your neighbours’, along with helping to protect horticultural producers.”
QFF can breed in other home garden crops that are present in mid-summer such as peaches, nectarines and berries, with fruit becoming increasingly attractive as it ripens.
Fruit infested with fruit fly should be microwaved, frozen or placed into plastic bags and left in the sun for at least 14 days before being thrown in the rubbish bin.
“Keep damaged fruit out of the compost – the warm and humid conditions create the perfect environment to rear a new generation of flies,” Ms Mansfield said.
Other ongoing preventative measures include netting crops, with regular checks essential to ensure they’re tightly secured and haven’t been damaged by branches.
“Ask for fine insect netting at your hardware store or garden centre – the holes are approximately 2mm in diameter, rather than bird netting, which QFF can get through,” Ms Mansfield said.
“Insect netting can be expensive but as long as it’s UV stable, should last for many years, which makes it a very affordable, long-term control method.
“You can also use QFF pheromone traps to catch male flies and this will help you to know whether there are flies present.
“If you do use baits or insecticides, follow the label instructions and maintain your program of applications to minimise the chance that you will miss a generation of flies.”
Practise good garden hygiene
To reduce the risk of attracting Queensland fruit fly to your garden:
- Keep your garden free from unwanted, fallen and rotten fruit to remove potential breeding spots.
- Pick and use fruit or vegetables as they ripen or harvest the produce early if it will ripen after it’s picked.
- Choose dwarf varieties of fruit trees which are easier to cover with netting and to inspect for damage.
- Reduce the size your trees so they don’t produce more fruit than you need
- • Remove any unwanted or neglected host trees and replace them with early-maturing host plants or non-host alternative plants such as local wattles or grevilleas.
Source: Agriculture Victoria
