Fruit fly causes losses of up to $159 million a year in Australia, making them the bane of orchardists, a worldwide agricultural pest and the target of intensive research by QUT scientist Associate Professor Tony Clarke.
To further up the ante against this threat to agricultural livelihoods and food security, Professor Clarke has been appointed as the newly established $1.4 million Chair of Fruit Fly Biology, in partnership with the Plant Biosecurity Cooperative Research Centre (PBCRC).
Professor Clarke, from QUT's Science and Engineering Faculty, established one of the world's largest fruit fly research groups and will, in this new role, coordinate fruit fly management research around Australia over the next three years.
"Australia is a current world leader in developing agricultural solutions for managing fruit fly pests," Professor Clarke said.
"Australia has only a few fruit fly biologists and we need to maximise our research collaborations with them in Australia and overseas to find ways to control or even eradicate these pests."
Professor Clarke said Queensland growers had suffered more than $100 million in lost markets when the Papaya fruit fly invaded the country in the 90s.
"It cost another $36 million to eradicate the pest. Fruit fly invasions happen around the world, particularly in subtropical regions," he said.
"The plan is to coordinate efforts with researchers in the Primary Industries department, CSIRO and other universities to deal with these pests both here and overseas such as the Oriental fruit fly that ruins crops in Papua New Guinea.
"Existing pest control techniques achieve about 90 per cent control, but they are not perfect and the remaining 10 per cent of control is what growers need to ensure their livelihoods and food security for their countries."
Australia's world-leading research has implications for trade around the world with fruit fly threatening food security in developing countries, particularly in Africa and Asia.
Plant Biosecurity CRC CEO Dr Michael Robinson said he was delighted to have someone with such a wealth of experience leading fruit fly research.
"Tony is an industry leader in fruit fly research having worked in the field for 15 years, and more broadly in agricultural entomology for 25 years," Dr Robinson said.
"To be able to call on that sort of expertise will ensure Australia is in the best hands possible to defend itself against this devastating pest.
"QUT also has well-established, reliable labs in key areas of biosecurity and one of the largest fruit fly research groups globally, so it is well placed to manage future research, development and commercial outcomes for the nation."
As Chair of Fruit Fly Biology, Professor Clarke will lead the development and implementation of a twenty-year national fruit fly Research Development and Extension (RD&E) plan to control exotic species in Australia, which will decrease grower production costs and increase market opportunities.
Professor Clarke will also lead the audit of existing research and management of ongoing projects and make recommendations for strategic investments and commercialisation of pest control outputs.
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Media contact: Niki Widdowson, 07 3138 2999 or n.widdowson@qut.edu.au
