Agriculture: SAG is trained to combat the fruit fly in central Chile
Officials of the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) attended the course "Design and management of the National Fruit Fly System" in the Biobío region. The activity was attended by the regional director of the organization, Iván Ramírez Delpín.
The head of the SAG in that Chilean zone assured that the new model has a permanent surveillance system, which has a network of 346 traps, which are strictly supervised for seven to ten days.
"The review will depend on the season of the year in which we are. In case of detecting one or more suspected adults of some kind of fruit fly, the pertinent alerts must be generated to activate a plan of immediate measures ”.
On the presence of this pest in the Biobío Region, Ramírez discarded it completely, adding that "we have carried out quality controls, that is, supervisors place insects in known traps to test the inspectors, who have given good results ".
Since the SAG, many efforts have been made to maintain the campaigns for the eradication of the fruit fly throughout the country, according to Iván Ramírez. He stated that the various experiences in this area have allowed him to recognize the problems and take action in this regard.
Rodrigo Ther Alarcón, in charge of Agricultural and Forestry Protection of the SAG in the Biobío Region, pointed out that the inspectors of the agency he represents should always be alert to face possible outbreaks of this plague in the area.
"That is why it is important to recognize the insect, the actions to be implemented for its detection, the protocols and measures to be applied in case of detection, such as the sensitization of the area through the installation of new traps, sampling of fruit, chemical applications and fruit unloading, among other aspects ", declared Ther Alarcón.
Vulnerability
A study published by the Faculty of Agronomic Sciences of the University of Chile in the year 2015 determined that almost the 90 percent of the plagues that affect the fruit production in the country come from other continents.
And punctually on the fruit fly, it is said that with the import of edible items it is possible to bring the eggs of the insect with it without many times being possible to detect them.
Due to its survival characteristics, the fruit fly prefers more tropical and hot areas. In the case of Chile, Talca has been a part of the national territory where its presence has been mostly detected.
"In Chile, which is not a tropical country where the fly can always live, there are low populations, but if it is found, even if it is only one, it means there is a focus," highlights a fragment of the document.
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