Australia: Fruit fly expected to be eliminated in Tasmania by spring - FreshFruitPortal.com

Australia: Fruit fly expected to be eliminated in Tasmania by spring

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Australia: Fruit fly expected to be eliminated in Tasmania by spring

The Tasmanian government has so far spent over AUD$5.5 million tackling Queensland fruit fly incursions, although the government and horticulture industry are confident that it will be eradicated by the start of spring, ABC News reported. 

More than AUD$8 million was budgeted, with the Federal Government also giving AUD$20 million to help eradicate the fruit fly from the northern regions of Tasmania.

"The likelihood of fruit fly surviving long enough over winter to re-infest fruit on mainland Tasmania in the coming spring and summer is extremely low," said primary industries minister, Sarah Courtney.

"Biosecurity Tasmania is also confident that the treatment regimes applied on infected sites will result in eradication."

The source of the incursions was revealed to be commercial shipments of infected fruit that had been through certified fumigation processes on the mainland and arrived in Tasmania in October or November.

There have been no detections of adult fruit flies or larvae on Flinders Island since January, on Lady Barron Island since March 19, in the Spreyton area since March 16 and at George Town since April 2.

"The program as it's rolled out has been fantastic and I believe that full eradication will follow in the spring and our pest-free area status will be returned in late spring to early summer," said Fruit Growers Tasmania president Nick Hansen.

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