A new baiting method has proven more effective than pesticide at controlling the carpophilus beetle, which spreads brown rot to summerfruit.
The technique is called Attract and Kill, fittingly shortened to AK, which draws the beetle in with a plant-based attractant, according to the Weekly Times.
AK has proven itself at a time when the carpophilus beetle, which has not been a notable pest in the past, has dramatically increased in number over the last few seasons.
The beetle spreads brown rot that affects a range of summerfruit crops like stonefruit, according to Horticulture Australia plant standards manager Brad Wells.
“You're getting coverage you'd never get with a pesticide. You're attracting the pest before it touches a tree,” he said.
“It suppresses (beetle) population in the whole region - regional management benefits a region, rather than just individual farmers.”
A recent trial of the method showed it reduced fruit damage level to 0.17 per cent, opposed to 2.05 per cent when pesticide was used.
The AK method has also shown it can compete on price with pesticides, after it was discovered only two baiting stations were needed per hectare, instead of three as was previously thought.
The system has seen interest from the strawberry industry, which is also affected by the beetle.
