Quality Management Systems for Fruit Fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) Sterile Insect Technique

Authors

  • Carlos Cceres
  • Donald McInnis
  • Todd Shelly
  • Eric Jang
  • Alan Robinson
  • Jorge Hendrichs

Abstract

The papers presented in this issue are focused on developing and validating procedures to improve the overall quality of sterile fruit flies for use in area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) programs with a sterile insect technique (SIT) component. The group was coordinated and partially funded by the Joint FAO/IAEA Programme of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria, under a five-year Coordinated Research Project (CRP) on “Quality Assurance in Mass-Reared and Released Fruit Flies for Use in SIT Programmes”. Participants in the CRP from 16 countries came from both basic and applied fields of expertise to ensure that appropriate and relevant procedures were developed. A variety of studies was undertaken to develop protocols to assess strain compatibility and to improve colonization procedures and strain management. Specific studies addressed issues related to insect nutrition, irradiation protocols, field dispersal and survival, field cage behavior assessments, and enhancement of mating competitiveness. The main objective was to increase the efficiency of operational fruit fly programs using sterile insects and to reduce their cost. Many of the protocols developed or improved during the CRP will be incorporated into the international quality control manual for sterile tephritid fruit flies, standardizing key components of the production, sterilization, shipment, handling, and release of sterile insects.

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Published

2007-03-01

Issue

Section

Literature Review Articles