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Review
. 2021 May 6;12(5):415.
doi: 10.3390/insects12050415.

Sterile Insect Technique Programme against Mediterranean Fruit Fly in the Valencian Community (Spain)

Ignacio Plá  1   2 , Jaime García de Oteyza  1 , Carlos Tur  1   2 , Miguel Ángel Martínez  1 , María Carmen Laurín  1 , Ester Alonso  1 , Marta Martínez  1 , Ángel Martín  1 , Román Sanchis  1 , María Carmen Navarro  1 , María Teresa Navarro  1 , Rafael Argilés  1 , Marta Briasco  1 , Óscar Dembilio  1 , Vicente Dalmau  3
Affiliations
Review

Sterile Insect Technique Programme against Mediterranean Fruit Fly in the Valencian Community (Spain)

Ignacio Plá et al. Insects. .

Abstract

The Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wied.), is an endemic pest in fruit-growing areas of the Spanish Mediterranean coast. In the Valencian Community, it represents a serious problem in the cultivation of citrus and numerous species of fruit, such as peach, cherry, apricot, persimmon, etc. For over 50 years, the Department of Agriculture of Valencia has led, promoted, and carried out a C. capitata control programme to protect crops, especially citrus fruits, because this community is the largest national producer and the leading region for fresh citrus exports in the world. Traditionally, pest control has been based on the use of insecticides. However, a reduction of more than 90% of a target wild population was achieved in the frame of a pilot integrated pest management (IPM) project based on the sterile insect technique (SIT), which was implemented from 2003 to 2006. Based on this successful result, in 2007 the Department of Agriculture of Valencia initiated an area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) programme for the suppression of C. capitata, using the SIT as the primary control method. Complementary activities are implemented periodically in hotspots and during different time periods depending on the pest population dynamics. As a result, there has been a reduction of more than 90% in the use of insecticides by aerial means to control C. capitata, as well as a growth trend in exports of citrus and fresh fruits from the Valencian Community in recent years. This paper provides a historical review of the Valencian programme and briefly describes how technological innovations and decision-making tools have contributed to programme efficiency.

Keywords: Ceratitis capitata; autocidal control; fly emergence and release facility; integrated pest management; irradiation; mass-rearing.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of the activities conducted at the Mass-Rearing Facility & Packing and Release Center.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Quality control data: average weekly values for pupae weight and flight ability of the VIENNA 8 GSS-Valencia (samples from PRC).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Induced sterility levels achieved after 100 Gy β-ray exposure of the VIENNA 8 GSS-Valencia brown (male) pupae. Tests carried out with wild-type females.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Procedure for obtaining the risk map (8) by combining the information from the monitoring network (4) and the distribution of susceptible citrus varieties in a target area (6–7). The variable-rate release path (10) to be followed by the aircraft during the release is defined after combining the risk map (8) and the predetermined release route (9).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Area treated with insecticide bait sprays by aerial means from 2003 to present in the Valencian Community (Spain).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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