The Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) on Thursday declared a second outbreak of Queensland fruit fly in metropolitan Adelaide following the discovery of maggots in backyard oranges in the Adelaide suburb of Prospect.
General Manager of the Fruit Fly Outbreak Response, Nick Secomb, said the maggots were found in fallen fruit by a PIRSA outbreak response field team doing their regular garden checks.
Mr Secomb said:
“Unfortunately, the discovery of fruit fly maggots in this fallen fruit means PIRSA have had to declare a second Queensland fruit fly outbreak in Adelaide."
The day before, the City of West Torrens was reminding residents in western Adelaide of the state government's program to eradicate the pest, tweeting:
"To help combat the spread of fruit flies across Adelaide, PIRSA will be releasing sterile fruit flies via low flying planes until the end of 2021. The sterile flies will breed with wild flies, which then cannot reproduce, breaking the fruit fly life cycle.
"Additionally, in an effort to further protect Riverland growers from fruit fly, NO fruit or veg can be taken into the region, regardless of whether or not you have a receipt."
The state government had recently taken the unprecedented step of banning fruit or vegetables being taken into the Riverland due to concerns about a possible outbreak as the weather warms.
On the 8th of August, the government declared that about 400 properties with fruit trees would be targeted by biosecurity inspectors across Norwood and Kent Town as part of a proactive approach to ridding the city of fruit fly and to protect thousands of jobs across South Australia’s horticulture industry.
The Marshall Liberal Government has spent around $40 million in eradicating 18 fruit fly outbreaks in Metropolitan Adelaide, the Riverland and Port Augusta.
Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development David Basham said Norwood and Kent Town were chosen for the targeted operation due to a number of fruit fly larvae finds in backyard fruit trees.
Minister Basham advised householders to do the right thing to help the fruitgrowing industry:
“We are encouraging homeowners to eat, juice, cook or preserve their fruit and vegetables where possible, but if you can’t please dispose of the waste in your closed green bin – do not compost or bury it. We know the fruit movement restrictions have been in place for a long time, and we thank everyone for doing the right thing in following them."