CTAHR Presents Fruit Fly Suppression Workshop for Home Gardeners

University of Hawaiʻi
Contact:
Jari Sugano, (808) 956-4720
College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources
Kristen Cabral, (808) 956-5039
Public Information Officer
Posted: Jun 24, 2003

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa‘s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) presents a "Fruit Fly Suppression Workshop for Home Gardeners" on Thursday, June 26, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Oʻahu Urban Garden Center in Pearl City (962 Second Street). Representatives from the Hawaiʻi Area Wide Fruit Fly Pest Management Program (HAW-FLYPM) will provide participants with the latest information on fruit fly suppression techniques in Hawaiʻi.

The workshop will educate participants about the "Simple as 1, 2, 3, 4" fruit fly suppression system that can be applied to Hawaiʻi‘s backyards. HAW-FLYPM efforts to educate state residents about this system have led to a decrease in economic losses, increased yields in backyard harvests, and heightened community involvement across the state.

The system was developed as a way to combat the four economically important fruit flies that have been inadvertently introduced into Hawaiʻi and are now established on all of the major Hawaiian islands — melon fly, Oriental fruit fly, Mediterranean fruit fly, and the Malaysian fruit fly. These four species of fruit flies infest over 400 different host fruits and represent one of the greatest bottlenecks to expansion or development of diversified agriculture in the state of Hawaiʻi.

The "Simple as 1, 2, 3, 4"-system of fruit fly suppression promoted by HAW-FLYPM offers simple tips that the average homeowner can follow by themselves or with professional assistance. Step 1 involves field sanitation or disposing of infested fruits and vegetables from backyards; Step 2 is environmentally friendly protein bait sprays for males and females; Step 3 is male annihilation or warfare, a technique used to reduce the number of males in the environment; and Step 4 is fruit fly birth control, or biological controls that can be used, such as sterile insects and parasitoids or natural enemies.

The program provides community education through the production and distribution of educational publications and activities such as this workshop and larger conferences, as well as school-based programs for Hawaiʻi children.

For more information about the workshop and to register, contact Jari Sugano at (808) 956-4720, e-mail suganoj@ctahr.hawaii.edu, or visit www.fruitfly.hawaii.edu.

For more information, visit: http://www.fruitfly.hawaii.edu