Controlling Fruit Flies By The Sterile Insect Technique

There has been little harmonisation of the processes involved in the handling and release of sterile insects after production in mass rearing facilities. There are no standard guidelines available to transfer this technology to FAO or IAEA member countries that want to embark on sterile insect technique (SIT) activities. There is also increased interest by the private sector in investing in sterile insect production and/or other SIT activities, and these harmonized guidelines on the post-production phase will facilitate SIT application and foster the commercialization of the SIT.This guideline resulted from two FAO/IAEA consultants' meetings with representatives of relevant SIT programmes, the first held in Sarasota, Florida, United States of America (April 2004) and the second in Vienna, Austria (August 2005). It has identified a number of gaps in knowledge as well as procedures that are often based on conventional wisdom but which need scientific verification or optimization.

This book is a continuation of the development of the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) specifically designed for use against, and management of, fruit flies. Several factors indicate an increased use of the SIT against fruit flies within the next decade.

In a context of increasing use and transboundary shipment of sterile insects, this updated FAO/IAEA guideline provides a compilation of the processes currently used in most of the fruit fly Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) applications world-wide.

The sterile insect technique (SIT) is an environment-friendly pest control method that fits into area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) programmes. This book describes the principles and practice of SIT, frankly evaluating its strengths and weaknesses, successes and failures. SIT is useful against pests that have considerable impact on plant, animal and human health, and criteria are provided to guide in the selection of pests appropriate for SIT.

Overview of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division's involvement in fruit fly sterile insect technique programs. Population genetics of ceratitis capitata and phylogenetic relations with other tephritidae. Food foraging behavior of frugivorous fruit flies. Advances in attractant and trapping technologies for tephritids. Mass rearing of fruit flies: a demographic analysis. Nutritional, biochemical, and biological aspects of quality control in the olive fruit fly. Advances in measuring quality and assuring good field performance in mass reared fruit flies. Mutants, chromosomes, and genetic maps in the mediterranean fruit fly. Requirements and strategies for the development of genetic sex separation systems with special reference to the mediterranean fruit fly. Fruit fly problems in China and prospects for using the sterile insect technique. Fruit fly problems in Southeast Asia and efforts to meet them. Bioclimatic effects on the distribution of the mediterranean fruit fly (diptera: tephritidae) in maghreb. Fruit fly free areas: strategies to develop them. Pink bollworm sterile moth releases: suppression of established infestations and exclusion from noninfested areas. The MOSCAMED program: practical achievements and contributions to science. The melon eradication program in Japan. The eradication of the Queensland fruit fly, bactrocera tryoni, from Western Australia.