RAF-5074Enhancing Capacity for Detection, Surveillance and Suppression of Exotic

and Established Fruit Fly Species through Integration of Sterile Insect Technique with Other Suppression Methods

Dr Mary Musyoki and Dr Muo KASINA National Sericulture Research Centre, Thika

Industrial Crops Research Institute

Outline

Background: What are fruit flies? their economic importance

Relevance of the Project

Project Outputs/ Efficiency and effectiveness; capacity building

Impact analyses (socioeconomic benefits)

Sustainability in absence of IAEA

Way forward

Acknowledgement

BackgroundFruit flies (Family Tephritidae) is one of the most destructive and economically challenging pest insect of fruits and vegetables

It is responsible for loss of export markets and poor farm gate prices of fruits and vegetables

Fruit flies are are insects (Diptera) and undergoes complete metamorphosis: eggs- larva- pupa- adult

Only larva (maggots) are extremely damaging. Adults in additioncause economic injury through stippling (oviposition marks)

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Present in Africa: Bactrocera (486 species); Ceratitis (70 species); Dacus 235 (species);Not in Africa: Rhagoletis (62 species); Anastrepha (183 species);

There is high diversity of pest fruit flies

Dacus ciliatusCeratitis capitata

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Zeugodacus cucurbitae Bactrocera dorsalis

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Ceratitis rosa

Relevance of the Project

Purpose:

To build capacity of African countries in the management of fruit flies using area wide approach and incorporating sterile insect technique

Fruit flies infest crops at times you cannot use insecticides without harming the consumers. the fruits are usually ripe at time of infestation. Hence pesticides may not be useful

Fruit flies cause immense social and economic losses and are currently managed effectivelyby SIT

SIT (sterile insect technique) is a method that uses sterile insects (males) to flood them in the wild, and by so doing they mate with wild fertile individuals, resulting to no progeny

The largest global fruit fly factory

Currently producing 1.2 billion sterile flies weekly with capacity of 2 billion week!

Project Outputs/Efficiency and effectiveness

Training Counterpart: Post graduate certificate in SIT and area wide IPM, Mauritius, 2016 (first ever PGC course in SIT globally)

Trained 4 Kenyans on SIT and area-wide IPM, Kenya 2017(October)

Trained 1 Kenyan on SIT and area wide IPM, Mexico/Guatemala, November 2017

More training planned

Fruit fly management kit worthy KES 125,000

Held Africa wide training on SIT and AW-IPM in Kenya (this is amajor capacity building for Kenya to hold similar trainings)

Supported Kenyan participation in 4th Area wide IPM conference inVienna, May 2017

Impact analyses (socioeconomic benefits)Fruit flies are leading economic pests not only Kenya but global

Kenya in 2008 lost Avocado market in South Africa as a result of Bactrocera dorsalis presence. Since then, we have not gained access as the pest continues to cause havoc

Kenya cannot export fruits to USA or some european countries due to this pest. Therefore opportunities for incomes and employment creation are lost

* Shelf life of fruits in Kenyan market has reduced drastically, making fruitscheap and not economically sustaining farmers

• Farmers resulting to use of pesticides even when banned, to ensure no damage

• High use of ripening chemicals because fruits are harvested before theyripen to avoid infestation. this has lowered quality of produce, with most fruits not tasty

RAF 5074 has enhanced capacity for Kenya to develop sustainable systemfor fruit fly management

Sustainability in absence of IAEAAlready there exists a National Fruit fly program which isresponsible for fruit fly activities

The knowledge gained and capacity built from this RAF5074 project will help develop sustainable mechanism for the pest control

There are prospects for use of sterile flies to manage fruit flies inKenya. this is a long term goal that can be effected with time

We will continue to engage IAEA on matters of fruit flies.

Way forwardKALRO looking forward to develop mass rearing facility for fruit flies and SIT facility

However, this is a long term strategy

Initially is to develop a program that leads to the use of sterile flies

* Further, other compatible methods will be incorporated while implementing area-wide IPM for the fruit flies

KALRO

IAEA

KNEB

NACOSTI

HCD-AFA

MOALF

KEPHIS

PCPB

FPEAK

Acknowledgment