South African deciduous fruit industry launches Centre of Excellence for pest monitoring

Published Nov 14, 2024

Tridge summary

The South African deciduous fruit industry has launched a Centre of Excellence to improve pest surveillance and protection. Led by Hortgro, the initiative aims to combat the risks posed by invasive pests and diseases to the sector's sustainability and profitability. The Centre will enhance surveillance capabilities, focusing on pests like the polyphagous fruit borer and spotted wing drosophila, building on the work of FruitFly Africa. This effort will make the industry more proactive in pest management and could be shared with other sectors like berries, wine, and table grapes.

Disclaimer: The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

The South African deciduous fruit industry has launched a Centre of Excellence dedicated to advancing pest surveillance and safeguarding the future of the sector. The initiative is led by Hortgro and addresses the challenges posed by invasive pests and diseases. Hortgro CEO Anton Rabe highlighted the urgent need for comprehensive pest surveillance as more pests threaten the sustainability and profitability of the sector, from crop damage to quarantine risks. “We need to understand where pests occur and where they don’t, because this directly influences crop protection strategies and practices,” Rabe said. Detecting an invasive pest as soon as it arrives in the country can allow it to be eradicated before it becomes established. In addition, advance warning of the arrival of a pest or disease gives the industry critical time to develop plant protection and management practices. The Centre of Excellence will build on the surveillance capabilities of FruitFly Africa (FFA), an ...

Source: MXfruit