Dominican Republic uses nuclear technology to win the war against fruit flies (Chinese Edition)

The Mediterranean fruit fly was reported for the first time in March 2015 in Punta Cana, the eastern region of the island. As soon as the Government announced the presence of this pest, the United States of America banned the import of 18 fruits and vegetables from the Dominican Republic, severely affecting the country's main source of income after tourism: agricultural exports. But, thanks to a quick response by the Dominican Republic Ministry of Agriculture and with the support of the IAEA, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the outbreak was contained in just ten months. The result? In January 2016, the USA lifted the agro-ban for most of the country. SIT involves rearing large numbers of male flies and sterilizing them with ionizing radiation. These sterile flies are then released from the ground and by air over pest-infested areas, where they mate with wild populations, which then do not produce offspring. SIT is among the most environmentally friendly control tactics available, and is usually applied as part of an integrated campaign to control insect populations. The IAEA and the FAO jointly support about 40 SIT field projects, delivered through the IAEA technical cooperation programme in different parts of Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean.