PIRSA declared the sixteenth Queensland fruit fly outbreak in the Riverland called ‘Monash North’ on 4 November. This outbreak extends the earliest possible release date of all current outbreaks to 27 January 2023.
The Monash North outbreak was declared following the detection of maggots in backyard fruit north of Monash township, with the affected area overlapping existing fruit fly impacted areas to the east of Monash township, but covering new areas to the west, including the township of Barmera.
PIRSA advised that all residents and businesses within the new 1.5km red outbreak area would soon be receiving quarantine information in their letterboxes, detailing what part they need to play in preventing fruit fly spread. This includes:
- Allowing PIRSA fruit fly staff access to your property to do their job.
- Picking up fallen fruit to lower the chance of fruit fly successfully breeding, especially as the weather warms up and flies become more active. This advice is equally relevant to residents and businesses in suspension areas surrounding all outbreak areas.
Vinehealth has sent advice via text to affected growers who have vineyards that are either now inside the Monash North outbreak area, which were previously inside a suspension area; or now inside the Monash North suspension area, that were previously not inside a fruit fly affected area.
Maps
We have recently updated our website with a range of fruit fly maps to help you visualise the current fruit fly affected areas in relation to Riverland vineyards. These include:
- A map showing all current fruit fly affected areas in the Riverland over Vinehealth’s vineyard layer.
- A map showing the Monash North fruit fly affected area over Vinehealth’s vineyard layer
- A map showing the Monash North fruit fly outbreak area over Vinehealth’s vineyard layer
You can also use PIRSA’s interactive fruit fly map to confirm which fruit fly zone your property is in.
Fruit fly and vintage: new system discussed
Vinehealth Australia brought together key PIRSA staff and a group of growers and winery representatives at the Loxton Research Centre on 17 November to discuss a new system for sending and receiving winegrapes out of fruit fly outbreak areas in the Riverland for processing within fruit fly suspension areas in the Riverland.
Should this new system proceed for vintage 2023, it will be available to the wine industry alongside the currently available ICA-33/IVCA accreditations and certification options, and, as with all options, will have specific criteria for use.
More information will be provided on this shortly.