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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Tifton, Georgia » Crop Protection and Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #256074
Title: Development of the sterile insect technique to suppress false codling moth Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in citrus fruit: Research to implementation (Part 1)

Author
item HOFMEYR, J. HENDRIK - Citrus Research International (CRI)
item Carpenter, James
item Bloem, Stephanie
item HOFMEYR, MARSHEILLE - Citrus Research International (CRI)
item GROENWALD, SAMPIE - Xsit (PTY) Ltd

Submitted to: African Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/27/2014
Publication Date: 3/31/2015
Citation: Hofmeyr, J., Carpenter, J.E., Bloem, S., Hofmeyr, M., Groenwald, S.S. 2015. Development of the sterile insect technique to suppress false codling moth Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in citrus fruit: Research to implementation (Part 1). African Entomology. 23(1):180-186.

Interpretive Summary: The False Codling Moth (FCM) is indigenous to sub-Saharan Arica and infests a large number of agricultural and wild fruit-bearing plants. The pest was unknown in the Western Province region of South Africa until the end of the 1960’s, when it was first identified in pear orchards in the Paarl region. By the late-seventies FCM was well established on citrus and other host plants in the Olifants River Valley, approximately 180 km from Paarl. Control measures for the pest included a very short list of insecticides, mating disruption and orchard sanitation. However, a longer term solution was needed and research on the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) was initiated in 2002. The research involved three phases: (1) radiation biology and F1 sterility, (2) field cage experiments, and (3) a pilot project in 35 hectares of FCM susceptible citrus. Very favorable results in these initial studies resulted in the successful commercialization of the SIT in two phases: (1) the building of a mass-rearing facility capable of producing up to 21 million insects per week, and (2) the commencement of commercial sterile insect releases in citrus orchards in the Citrusdal region, Western Cape Province.

Technical Abstract: False Codling Moth (FCM), Thaumatotibia leucotreta, is indigenous to sub-Saharan Arica and infests a large number of agricultural and wild fruit-bearing plants. The pest was unknown in the Western Province region of South Africa until the end of the 1960’s, when it was first identified in pear orchards in the Paarl region. By the late-seventies FCM was well established on citrus and other host plants in the Olifants River Valley, approximately 180 km from Paarl. Control measures for the pest included a very short list of insecticides, mating disruption and orchard sanitation. However, a longer term solution was needed and research on the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) was initiated in 2002. The research involved three phases, viz. radiation biology and F1 sterility (phase 1), field cage experiments (phase 2) and a pilot project in 35 ha of FCM susceptible citrus (phase 3). Very favorable results in these initial studies resulted in the commercialization of SIT in two phases, viz. the building of a mass-rearing facility capable of producing up to 21 million insects per week (phase 4) and the commencement of commercial sterile insect releases in citrus orchards in the Citrusdal region, Western Cape Province (phase 5).