2002-2004 Specialty Crops Research Program
University of California

Principal Investigators: Frank Zalom and Louise Ferguson

Project title: Ecological management system for controlling olive fruit fly in California olives

This project is designed to describe phenology of both the olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae, and its single host, the edible olive Olea europa spp. in California in order to develop an effective and ecologically acceptable management system. If a strategy for controlling the olive fly is not developed, the currently established California table olive industry and the burgeoning olive oil industry will be destroyed.

The development of an effective and ecologically-based management strategy requires a thorough knowledge of a pest’s biology and that of its host. As olive fly is a new pest to California, such information does not exist for our state. Therefore, we propose to characterize both olive fly and olive fruit development by defining a ‘biofix’, the degree-day accumulation required to achieve critical developmental stages, and periods of host susceptibility to the pest. This knowledge can be used to define periods when reduced-risk pesticides such as bait sprays and pheromone attract and kill traps can be most effectively deployed. It can also improve the timing of releases for biological control introductions.

Monitoring trap sites will be established throughout California representing a range of climatic conditions. Data obtained from each site will include weekly male and female trap captures, female reproductive status, temperatures from an on-site micrologger, and fruit development characterization. Regression analysis will be used to adapt or develop the olive fly and fruit phenology models. The project will commence in February, 2003, with data being collected for two full seasons. Phenology models should be available for use by summer, 2005.

Both investigators are coordinating this project with the California Olive Committee and the California Olive Oil Council (supporting letters attached), and implementation of results through UC Cooperative Extension and the olive industries will receive the highest priority.