• NFFC fruit fly webinars attract worldwide interest image

The National Fruit Fly Council recently hosted three online webinars with more than 360 attendees in total from Australia, Bangladesh, China, Tbilisi, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Italy, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Punjab, Selangor, Sénégal, South Africa and Taiwan.

On 4 April we discussed ‘Interspecies competition in fruit flies’. Dr Francis De Lima, a Consultant Entomologist at AgHort Solutions, presented the demography, dispersal, distribution, and management of medfly in Australia and overseas. Prof Anthony Clarke Professor and Chair of Fruit Fly Biology and Management at the Queensland University of Technology, shared the history of Qfly and Medfly interactions, as well as off-shore experience of fruit fly competition.

The second webinar about ‘Coordinated national research of Australia’s fruit flies’ was held on 24 May. Presentations focused on the phenology, demography, distribution, and diagnostics of fruit flies. Speakers included Peter Leach, Vesna Gagic, and Stef De Faveri from Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Tony Clarke from Queensland University of Technology, Solomon Balagawi from New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, and Mark Blacket from Agriculture Victoria.

The third webinar held on 31 May explored ‘Agrichemicals and novel technologies in fruit fly management’. Kevin Bodnaruk from AKC Consulting, presented ‘AgChemical management: Regulatory trends and challenges’. David Daniels, General Manager Market Development, Citrus Australia, presented agrichemical risk management of fruit fly in citrus fruit. Prof Neena Mitter, Director of the Centre for Horticultural Science, Queensland Alliance of Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) at the University of Queensland, presented her team’s research on the success of whitefly.

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