Charles Kimani
fruit fly IPM package is aimed at managing pests at the pre-harvest and post-harvest stage. Overall, these interventions are safe to the users, the consumers, and the environment. The pre-harvest component goes beyond controlling fruit flies by extending cascading effects to the interwoven natural and man-controlled ecosystems which are vital for food production, storage of carbon, soil life, purification of air and general livelihoods especially for the resource poor and vulnerable people of the world. At the centre of the concern, is the pollination crisis potentially created by the widespread deployment of irresponsible fruit fly management actions which can be adequately addressed by the promotion and adoption of environmentally friendly pre- and post-harvest management strategies. Here are the IPM Methods that you can use in your farm.
1.Augementorium
The augmentorium is a tent-like structure with dual functions of orchard sanitation and augmenting parasitoids (farmer friendly insects) back into the orchard. This structure aims to prevent emerging adult fruit flies from the fallen infested fruit that have been secured in the augmentorium to escape back into the orchard while at the same time allowing the parasitoids to escape. This structure is key in orchard sanitation and ensuring parasitoids establishment.
2.Field Sanitation.
This involves collecting all fallen and infested fruits from the mango orchard, then transferring them to the augmentorium. This is to reduce re-infestation of the orchard with the fruit flies that re-emerge from the infested fruits thus reducing the overall pest population in the orchard. All emerging adult fruit flies will be sequestered from returning into the orchard.
3.Spot Spraying
This is the use of ‘attract and kill’ method in management of the fruit flies. This system involves a food bait to ‘attract’ the adult flies and this bait is laced with a soft/green insecticide which then ‘kills’ the fly the moment the fly feeds. This is applied in a defined 1m x 1m square, either on the leaves (canopy) or on the stem but never on fruits. Instead of spraying the entire tree, this is applied to the ‘defined 1m2 spot’. The food bait attracts both male and female adult fruit flies. The farmers can also apply the food bait in traps.
4.Male Annihilation.
This involves utilisation of specific sex pheromones housed in slow releasing wicks/blocks that are laced with an insecticide. These sex pheromones attract the adult males and are species specific. As the males are ‘attracted’ and ‘killed’ in mass, the females are denied the opportunity to get mates hence any eggs laid will not have been fertilised. Therefore, no larvae will hatch, which eventually leads to overall population decline of the pest in the orchard
5. Autodissemination
This is the incorporation of a biopesticide and an attractant (either food bait or sex pheromone) in management of fruit flies. As the adult flies are attracted into the trap, they can pick infective fungal spores (biopesticide) but they are not killed immediately. However, as the flies fly out, they will be transferring the spores amongst themselves during fights, mating and grooming sessions. After a few days post fungal infection, the fly dies. This aspect of horizontal transfer increases the chances of death of flies that did not visit the autodissemination device, thereby contributing to population decline. The autodissemination device is also hanged 2m above