Although the Moquegua and Tacna regions of southern Peru were declared fruit-fly free in December 2007, the nation’s agricultural health department, SENASA, announced a renewed effort on the border to prevent the entrance of unregulated fruit, local agricultural news website Agraria.pe reported.

Parts of southern Peru were declared fruit-fly free in 2007.

According to Óscar Granado, director of SENASA-Moquegua, a big effort is under way to prevent the fly problem from moving to other areas.

“Now that we’re in a (fruit fly) free area, we are working to give an area of protection to our department (province) through the control posts, so that no unregulated fruit enters the zone,” he is quoted as saying.

He said that although the rest of the departments, or provinces, in the south are not yet free of the fruit fly, they are already developing ways to eradicate it in the future.

To get rid of insect, male fruit flies are sterilized before being set free in the field, which prevents reproduction in fertile flies.

This method doesn’t contaminate the environment, other beneficial insects or affect human health. Pesticide used to eradicate the insect has been reduced to zero, the website said.

Due to the eradication of the fruit fly, Moquegua has added 80 hectares of grapes and more than 30 hectares of Hass avocado. There has also been an increase in the production of table grapes for export and for melons and watermelon.

Photo: agraria.pe

Source: www.freshfruitportal.com