News

News Release April 30, 2005
Fruitfly Trapping Program:

   If you enjoy eating mangoes or plums chances are you have encountered white "worms" which might be buried in the flesh of the fruit. These are actually the larvae of fruit flies (eg Anastrepha ap.) that thrive in Jamaica and many other Caribbean countries. They significantly affect the quality of soft fruits by changing the appearance and taste of the affected fruits. Many of these fruit flies do not occur in the United States however and since the US has a thriving fruit industry, every effort is made to prevent the entry of these pests into the country. That is the reason for the ban on soft fruits from Jamaica into the US. Only eraditation of these flies or treatment of the fruit would allow for entry of these crops.

   Although Jamaica does support many fruit flies there are some that do not occur here. There has to be scientific evidence that this is so if Jamaica can defend itself against any accusation that one does exist in its borders. Medfly (Ceratitis capitata) for example is a very decastating fruit fly but does not occur in Jamaica. The Exotic Fruit Fly Trapping Program which is supported by the USDA and managed by RADA and the Plant Quarantine Division of the Ministry of Agriculture is one such method that is being used to collect data to support the JMOA claim that Medfly does not occur in its borders, therefore a ban on medfly hosts is not permissable for reason that it occurs here. The program is organized sucht that traps with a lure specific to Medfly is placed in the hot zones or areas that fruits are frequently handles such as markets, hotel areas, housing schemes and dumps. These traps are serviced periodically. Should there be any occurance of the pest, the trap would detect this immediately.

   This program has been in effect for the last four years and has so far not detected any Medfly. The program will be eventaully expanded to include other insects. Recently, in an effort to boost the capabilities of the program, a computer was donated by the USDA Area Director to the JMOA. This will assist with data collation and monitoring supplies and track the progress of the program on a monthly basis.