1. AWARENESS AND PREVENTION Yarra Valley - Victoria
Queensland Fruit Fly
AWARENESS AND PREVENTION
Yarra Valley - Victoria

2. Bactrocera tryoni James Niland Agriculture Victoria
Queensland Fruit Fly – Bactrocera tryoni
Rainforest- to farms & urban areas
Destructive horticultural pest
Adult flies are about 5 to 8mm in length.
They are light red-brown, with distinctive yellow stripes and patches – shoulder pads
Their larvae hatch in various fruit species, causing significant damage to crops
Recent warm wet years has seen the pest populations survive in regions where it has not historically survived before
Governments have reduced on ground support, shifting the management and response to incursion to industry
Hence it is considered to be on the doorstep of the Yarra Valley
Increased transportation of host fruit/veg into the region
Historically, the pest population was not thought to be able to survive in our climate
Climate is changing and so is the species ability to adapt to the cold
Urban sprawl – more back yard hosts and increased heat retention
Agriculture Victoria

3. Sting John Golding QDAF
The female inserts her ovipositor into the fruit, laying the eggs just under the surface
Host fruits pictured here include plum, capsicum, citrus and fejoia
The host list is huge; cherries, berries, avocado, passionfruit, persimmons, tomatoes, quinces, stone fruit, native fruits and even rose hips!!!
The sting mark alone is of commercial quality concern to producers, as is the consequence of a successful sting with larvae maturing inside the fruit
QDAF

4. Eggs Plant Biosecurity CRC DPI NSW
Egg is deposited just under the skin- into the flesh
Plant Biosecurity CRC
DPI NSW

5. Larvae
AG Vic
The larvae mature, and eat the flesh in a rotten state – induced by microbes involved with the larvae
AG Vic

6. Pupae
The larvae mature and “pop” out to the ground, forming a pupae
Overwintering as adults
Ag Vic
NSW DPI

7. Lifecycle
Length of time in each stage
- degrees
Ag Vc

8. What are the host fruits?

9. Commercial Implications
Increased costs
Damaged fruit
IPM complications
Loss of marketing options
Increased record keeping
Quality risk

10. When is QFF a risk?
NOW – this week, this month, this year, next year…..
QFF not detected in Yarra Valley YET
Ripening fruit
Overwintering populations – warm winters
Warm, humid weather
Each fruit season in years to come

11. Where are the risks?
Importing fruit into the region Public, workforce, tourists, commercial packhouses
Travelling insect
Host plants
Importing fruit into the region includes:
Infested fruit sold and bought at retail and community markets
Tourists, visitors, workers and residents
Commercial packers
Disposal sites where fruit is dumped
Traveling insect population includes
Hitchhikers
Natural dispersal
Where there is a host, humidity, warmth – there is a risk

12. What to do in the Yarra Valley?
Learn
Look
Monitor
As you are doing now, put yourself out there to learn about the threats
Research on line, in books, in groups, listen to experts
Look in your gardens, orchards QFF is not the only pest to watch out for
Spotted Winged Drosophila is also an exotic pest to be concerned about
REGIONAL COORDINATOR
DEDJTR
Agronomy consultant

13. What to do? Remove Protect Spagnolo Sandiegoreader
Keep fruit that could be infested with QFF larvae out of the Yarra Valley
Out of your property – each property manager is responsible
Hard to see in the infected fruit
Remove the fallen ripe fruit – break the cycle if it is there, not attract or encourage the QFF to establish
The most important element we can do is design our systems right
Make things easy to manage
Make systems work

14. Remove waste Sorting fruit
Inspecting for damage – disposing of waste off-farm, away from crop

15. Area Wide Management Synchronised efforts to control or prevent QFF
Action on each property
Monitoring for early detections
Plan of what actions to take, who will act, and when
Area Wide Management is a management based on collaboration and education and is really the only tool we have to use

16. What can I do if QFF arrives?? DR ABC
Alert DEDJTR, Regional Coordinator, Agronomists, Farm Manager, Neighbours
Identify source – remove or reduce the source
Identify the spread - contain the spread
Remove the infestation - attract and kill with bait sprays and specific traps
Increase monitoring intensity
Improve hygiene/sanitation
Continue to monitor with traps and checking fruit
Clean up or cull risks (more drastically than prevention stage)
Consider long term options for reducing population numbers

17. Thinking ahead We have area freedom
Cost of doing nothing is higher than the investment required to prevent the pest establishing

18. Acknowledgements.. State Government of Victoria, Agriculture Victoria
NSW DPI and QDAF
Dan Papaceck, Bugs for Bugs
Jenny Ekman, AHR and Hort Innovation
David Williams, DEDJTR