Argentina steps up fight to wipe out fruit flies
Date: 20-Dec-01
Country: ARGENTINA
Author: Athena Jones
Fruit flies threaten Argentina's ability to compete with other fruit
exporters, hampering production and increasing costs to growers, said
Plant Health Director Eduardo Cosenzo, of the national food and animal
health inspection service.
"The fruit fly is a significant problem because it affects production
for the domestic market and exports since countries that are fruit fly
free logically aim to protect that status," he said.
Heavy infestation can be catastrophic for crops. Exported fruits from
affected areas must be treated, usually with freezing temperatures to
kill the insect, a costly process. Argentina ships fresh pears, apples
and lemons to countries including the United States, Canada, Russia,
Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, Australia and Western Europe.
Mediterranean (medfly) or South American fruit flies have been found in
varying quantities in parts of Buenos Aires, Mendoza, San Juan, La
Rioja, La Pampa, Neuquen, Rio Negro, Chubut, Santa Cruz and Tierra del
Fuego provinces.
The southern Andean Valley region where raspberries and strawberries are
grown is fruit fly free, said a resolution issued by the executive
branch recently as part of the push to eliminate the pest.
Chile has recognized that area as fruit fly free, but Argentina is still
awaiting recognition from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the
Mercosur trade block that joins it with Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay,
Cosenzo said.
"In line with national government priorities with regard to economic and
forest and agricultural development the health status of fruits and
vegetables in Argentina must be improved, with particular focus on
controlling fruit flies," the resolution said.
"Control is of vital importance to achieve production that meets the
phytosanitary requirements of import markets with sanitary
restrictions," said the document.
The resolution modifies the categories used to rank areas of the country
by level of fruit fly presence and lays out a framework for detecting
and eliminating the pest. It also introduces a new rank for "scarce
presence" of the fly.
Argentina aims to win international recognition of the "scarce presence"
status, one step away from "fruit fly free", for parts of southern and
western provinces.
The resolution defines "scarce presence" as an average capture rate of
0.01 flies per trap per day. The country wants products from these areas
to be allowed to enter fruit fly free countries without having to be
treated before shipment.
"That is obviously very close to eradication and with this quantity of
flies being trapped there is generally not an infestation of the fruit,"
said Cosenzo, who oversees the country's seven-year old fruit fly
eradication program.
FRUIT FLY SCARE
The new resolution was passed just days after a fruit fly scare led the
USDA to ban Spanish clementine citrus imports after finding fly larvae
in shipments to Louisiana, Maryland and North Carolina. Larvae were also
found in California.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said recently that billions of
dollars in U.S. farm output could be lost if the pest were to spread.
Fruit flies lay eggs in the tissue of ripening fruits and vegetables.
The eggs grow into maggots that feed on the pulp of the plants.
The flies can be eliminated through insecticide spraying and
sterilization programs that kill off the fly population using sterilized
flies that mate with wild medflies but don't produce offspring.
