Regional fruit fly co-ordinator Ross Abberfield with City of Greater Shepparton team leader manager Megan Howard and orchardists Chris Damianopoulos and Peter Hall.
The annual battle to curb the Queensland fruit fly menace will resume with the region’s control program receiving funding for the next two years.
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The pests are beginning to emerge from their reservoir homes in backyards, as the spring weather warms up.
Regional fruit fly co-ordinator Ross Abberfield said the pest had been overwintering in urban areas and as the weather warms to 15℃ to 17℃ the flies become active and enter a breeding cycle.
They will feed on backyard fruit and vegetables and then move out into orchards.
The Goulburn Murray Valley program has been operating for a number of years and Mr Abberfield said between 2017 and 2019 a reduction of 60 per cent in Queensland fruit fly trapping numbers was measured across the Goulburn Murray Valley region.
“In Cobram, where the Sterile Insect Technique release trial was being conducted, fruit fly trap numbers reduced by 83 per cent,” he said.
“The program has been independently assessed by experts and is recognised as the most effective Fruit Fly Area Wide Management Program in Australia.”
Victorian Agriculture Minister Gayle Tierney announced the funding as part of the Victorian Fruit Fly Strategy program, which will help roll out fruit fly management programs across regional Victoria.
Orchardist Peter Hall from Integrity Fruit with a high tech Queensland fruit fly trap on a Shepparton orchard. The trap has the ability to identify and kill the fruit fly and report back its operation to a mobile phone application.
The Goulburn Murray Valley program has received grants to train community groups, nurseries and rural supply stores with skills so that they can identify risks and implement control strategies.
The first round of Victorian Fruit Fly Strategy grants helped regional co-ordinators to engage with the community in key horticultural areas via more than 130 events and enabled the removal of more than 3100 high risk trees.
This second grant will fund the program from this year to 2025.
Other fruit fly management measures outlined in the strategy include regulation, research and preparedness for exotic fruit fly incursions.
Mr Abberfield said the Goulburn Murray Valley Fruit Fly Area Wide Management Program was based on creating awareness, education and engagement in the community industry and government to reduce the economic impact of fruit fly.
The education and engagement programs were based on monitoring fruit fly populations data gathered from an extensive regional trapping grid.
Since 2017, the program has reached out to over 40 million viewers, listeners and readers across television, radio, print and electronic media.
More than 30,000 participants have been educated about the dangers of fruit fly through the primary school education program and at workshops and events.
Mr Abberfield said more than 108,000 abandoned, neglected or unwanted fruit trees have been removed so far, representing a huge amount of unmanaged fruit fly habitat.
Orchardist Peter Hall said the region was dependent on the fruit industry for jobs and economic activity and fruit fly were a threat to that.
“We can’t deal with the issue in the cities. We have been dealing with it on our farms for years, but we need the help of people in the cities to deal with this pest,” Mr Hall said.
“If they can help us, it helps the industry and that will help the overall economic development in the community.”
Anyone who has a fruit tree they no longer want or can no longer manage can apply to have it removed free of charge.
The fruit tree removal program is available within Campaspe, Greater Shepparton, Moira and Strathbogie shires.
For more information go to the City of Greater Shepparton website.
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