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Fruit Fly

Despite diminished media attention over the last few years, fruit fly restrictions in East Gippsland are still in effect.

By Department of Primary Industries - 6th December 2004 - Back to News

In order to protect the horticultural industry it remains important to control fruit fly within East Gippsland and to avoid transportation of fruit from the permanently declared fruit fly area into fruit fly free zones.

The declared fruit fly area starts at the Nicholson River, and continues to the New South Wales border. Fruit grown in the declared area should not be moved out of the area, unless certified by an Interstate Certification Assurance Agreement between the business and the Department of Primary Industries (DPI).

The area west of the Nicholson River is declared fruit fly free.

Queensland fruit fly is the most common pest found within the fruit-growing region of East Gippsland, which encompasses Mallacoota to Nicholson; and can affect pome fruit (apples, pears, quinces, Asian pears, loquats), stone fruit, citrus and fruiting vegetables such as tomatoes and capsicums.

There are four stages in the life cycle of a fruit fly - eggs, larvae (maggot), pupa and adult fly. The larvae are cream in colour, have no legs and will jump if placed on a smooth surface. As the larvae eat, they work their way in towards the centre of the fruit, although the outside may appear unblemished. The larvae pupate in the soil and emerge as adult flies.

If you detect fruit fly, the most effective way to destroy the larvae is by either boiling, burning or placing the fruit in a sealed black plastic bag and leaving it out in the sun for a few days before disposing in the garbage. This will assist by breaking the life cycle of the flies, by reducing the number of larvae entering the soil to pupate.

Chemical controls are also effective. There are a number of chemicals registered for use on fruit fly. They can be purchased from chemical resellers, nurseries and hardware stores. Always read the label and adhere to withholding periods.

If you live west of the Nicholson River and think you may have fruit fly in your backyard, please contact the Department of Primary Industries in Bairnsdale on 5152 0600.

SUMMER INFERTILITY IN PIGS

The Pig Health and Research Unit (PHRU) at DPI Epsom recently organised a successful pig industry seminar to assist Victorian producers reduce the effects of summer infertility in their herd. Seventy producers from many areas of Victoria made the trip to Epsom to attend the seminar.

The aim of the seminar was to inform producers of the causes and effects of seasonal infertility, as well as provide them with several management tools that may assist them to manage mating and throughput targets during the hotter times of the year.

Summer infertility is the term used to refer to a syndrome in pigs characterised by:

• Reduced farrowing rate.
• A delayed return to service around 30 days post mating.
• Gilts failing to reach puberty.
• Increased wean‑to‑oestrus interval and reduced litter size.

The period of seasonal infertility is traditionally thought to impact on pigs mated between weeks 1‑16 of the year, but this period, and the severity of seasonal infertility, can vary from farm to farm and year to year.

Summer infertility impacts quite severely on the Victorian pig herd every year. Victorian pig

producers who are able to achieve quite good levels of productivity during the more temperate times of the year may often have quite low conception rates during the hotter months. This results in depleted numbers of pigs being available for the time of year - Christmas - when demand is traditionally highest.

Much time and effort has been spent on trying to unravel the complexities of this syndrome and it has become apparent that there isn't a simple, straightforward solution. Resolving this summer infertility problem usually involves implementing a number of management strategies that could vary for different farms.

Anyone wanting more information should ring the PHRU at Epsom on 5430 4444.

WORKING TOGETHER ON DAIRY EFFLUENT IN GIPPSLAND

The quantity of dairy effluent and nutrients leaving farms in the Gippsland area is being reduced under an effluent management program being run by the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) and EPA Victoria.

The Gippsland Nutrient extension team (DPI) is working with dairy farmers to improve whole farm nutrient management. There are two key aims of this program. First to make best use of all nutrient sources on the farm for production; and second to minimise loss of nutrients from the farms to waterways.

Whole farm nutrient management affects many aspects of farm management including fertilisers, grazing management, animal health, water quality and the capital value of the property. On-farm nutrient management is also an important environmental issue, for example it is estimated that the effluent from a herd of 200 cows is equivalent to the sewage produced by a town of 2,000 people.

The EPA has a legislative requirement to ensure that effluent is contained on-farm and they are currently undertaking audits in the Gippsland region to ensure that effluent is appropriately managed. The audit involves a series of questions to identify nutrient risks. Many farmers seek assistance from DPI to improve their system before or after the first EPA audit (this advice is available to everyone). This helps to ensure that their system is ready for the second EPA follow-up visit.

The Gippsland Nutrient Extension Team is based at the DPI Ellinbank and DPI Maffra offices. The staff can offer free advice, ranging from upgrading of effluent systems, developing an EPA/DPI recognised ‘effluent management plan’ or ‘nutrient management plan’, ensuring best management practices exist on-farm. The team is also able to sample and test the nutrients in dairy effluent to determine appropriate application rates.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com