In an Australian first, researchers at the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture are partnering with local apple growers to pilot a controlled sterile insect release program.
Codling moth is one of the most economically damaging pests of apples. In an unmanaged orchard they can wipe out 50 to 90 per cent of the fruit.
The program is importing sterilised moths from Canada for release in the test orchards. The research team rigorously monitor the moths’ progress using specific pheromone traps.
TIA’s Sally Bound leads the pilot program, which is taking place across three apple orchards in Tasmania’s Huon Valley.
“The program works by flooding the wild population with large numbers of sterile males to substantially reduce the number of fertile eggs produced,” Dr Bound said.
“The moths can mate with each other, but they don’t produce viable eggs and there is no offspring produced, so it interrupts the life cycle.
“When this is repeated over a number of seasons, the population crashes and infestations drop below the threshold levels set for pesticide application, meaning growers no longer need to apply pesticides for codling moth, even for export markets that require pest-free shipments.”
The research team will assess sterile moth viability and competitiveness, determine the logistics of importation and release, and undertake an economic assessment of the release program, with the aim of developing recommendations for adoption and integration of sterile releases into an integrated pest management program.
Current management strategies for codling moth include monitoring, mating disruption, biological control and chemical pesticide control.
While these strategies can be effective, application of pesticides can disrupt beneficial insects, substantially affecting IPM systems.
Orchard manager Scott Price said codling moth was a big issue for the apple industry.
“I’m really excited about the sterile codling moth technology; I’ve seen the phenomenal results they have achieved in New Zealand,” Mr Price said.
“For our orchard, we don’t have the luxury of many control options, and the ones we have still result in some damage as they rely on the larvae ingesting the product which can damage the fruit.
“They are also very weather sensitive and can degrade rapidly with UV and rain.
“If this pilot program stacks up economically and logistically then I think it will be very good for the apple industry in Tasmania and Australia.”
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