HAW-FLYPM Presents Annual Fruit Fly Conference on Maui

Conference will provide the latest information on statewide fruit fly suppression efforts

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa‘s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) presents the second annual Fruit Fly Conference on Monday and Tuesday, April 28 and 29, at the Wailea Marriott Hotel on Maui. Representatives from the Hawaiʻi Area Wide Fruit Fly Pest Management Program (HAW-FLYPM) will provide participants with the latest program updates about fruit fly suppression efforts statewide.

The HAW-FLYPM program is a cooperative program between CTAHR‘s Cooperative Extension Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture‘s Agriculture Research Services (USDA-ARS), and the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture (HDOA). It is a collaborative effort to implement an area-wide fruit fly integrated pest management program, and is strategically designed to combine resources, reduce costs, and enable services to be expanded to a larger radius.

The HAW-FLYPM program promotes the "Simple as 1, 2, 3, 4"-system of fruit fly suppression that offers simple tips that the average homeowner can follow by themselves or with professional assistance. Step 1 involves field sanitation or disposing of infested fruits and vegetables from backyards; Step 2 is environmentally friendly protein bait sprays for males and females; Step 3 is male annihilation or warfare, a technique used to reduce the number of males in the environment; and Step 4 is fruit fly birth control, or biological controls that can be used, such as sterile insects and parasitoids or natural enemies.

The program provides community education through the production and distribution of educational publications and activities such as the "Simple as 1, 2, 3, 4" system and this annual conference, as well as school-based programs for Hawaiʻi children.

Area wide fruit fly suppression efforts have shown to be very successful in the HAW-FLYPM implementation zones of Kula on Maui, Waimea on the Big Island, and Kapolei on Oʻahu. Fruit fly suppression techniques have decreased economic losses, increased yields, and heightened community involvement. Local and national representatives from agricultural related industries, organizations and decision makers will be in attendance at the conference to discuss these efforts.

For more information about HAW-FLYPM and the conference, contact Jari Sugano at (808) 956-4720 or visit www.extento.hawaii.edu/fruitfly.

For more information, visit: http://www.extento.hawaii.edu/fruitfly