Project Number: 5320-22430-025-21
Project Type: Trust

Start Date: Oct 01, 2008
End Date: Sep 30, 2013

Objective:
The object of this cooperative research project is to develop control technologies (male annihilation) in an area-wide pest management program against fruit flies in Hawaii. The overall purpose of the project is to integrate technology developed by ARS and others in specific cropping areas of Hawaii to demonstrate that fruit fly control can lead to increased crop productivity, more environmentally acceptable control methods and economic benefit to those using the technology. The specific goals of the cooperative agreement are to integrate the SPLAT technology provided by Dow AgroSciences and ISCA Technologies of Riverside, California into the area-wide program which will facilitate a broader acceptance of the IPM technology, foster cooperative partnerships in research and education, and better serve the expanding diversified agricultural base of Hawaii and the Pacific. Furthermore, this research will expedite registration of SPLAT-MAT-ME with USEPA for use in the United States.

Approach:
The work plan identifies the following major areas of study: 1. Research and development of male annihilation treatments that are environmentally sound and effective. 2. Registration with EPA of promising products. 3. Implementation of selected IPM technologies in Hawaii and California.