Our project is comprised of four parts, the introduction, part design, prototype, and human practice. Let me introduce some background information regarding our project. The Oriental fruit fly is a serious agricultural pest. It can consume more than 150 types of vegetables and fruits and primarily affects tropical areas. According to research, in 2004, Asia produced 178 million tons of tropical fruits, amounting to 66% of the global production worth US$2.5 billion. Because Asia is mainly a tropical environment, these fruit flies can decimate the agricultural industry. They can cause 90% to 100% yield loss depending on the fruit fly population, locality, variety and season. In other words, the oriental fruit fly poses a great threat to our global food supply as it can destroy most of the global produce.
Oriental fruit flies are wreaking havoc worldwide. It accounted for an annual loss of $176 million in California and billions worth of damage in Taiwan. Furthermore, it devastated fruit production in Africa, causing more than 80% of crop damage. As a result, various countries, out of fear, impose trade restrictions and refused imports of produce from Africa, leading to significant economic losses for Africa.
The ravages of oriental fruit flies are also not limited to tropical areas. This is a global issue. They have plagued approximately 60 countries worldwide and the issue is worsened by international transportation, which can spread the oriental fruit fly eggs. This is why the issue of oriental fruit flies needs to be solved and our project aims to solve this problem.
Here are a few traditional solutions to the oriental fruit fly, but each of them are far from perfect.
#1: One of the most effective approach is contraception or male annihilation, which uses high-energy radiation to sterilize the male and in turn prevent reproduction. This is ineffective, however, as wild female flies can differentiate between sterilized males and non-sterilized males.
#2: Another way is baiting, which uses pheromones like methyl eugenol to attract male oriental fruit flies into traps that kill them. This is still ineffective however, as the female fruit flies, being the one capable of reproducing, are the real problem but are unaffected by methyl eugenol. There are other more ways like bagging, spraying pesticides and early harvesting but none of these are perfect solutions.
Our project aims to solve the shortcomings of these previous solutions. Our fungi is a biological agent that takes biosafety and environmental conservation into consideration.
What is Metarhizium anisopliae?
Metarhizium Anisopliae is an entomogenous fungi, Or a fungi that can act as a parasite and seriously harm them.It can infect over 300 hosts but different strands have highly specific hosts. Because various strains of Metarhizium Anisopliae already exist in soil, it doesn’t alter the environment, making it eco-friendly.
M. Anisopliae however, is vulnerable to environmental stress like low humidity, temperature, UV exposure… Etc. Thus, scientists are currently genetically engineering M. Anisopliae to solve these shortcomings. But, because of certain laws and policies that bar GMO products from entering the market, biopesticides using M. Anisopliae is still uncommon.
Traditionally, biosafety is achieved by selecting strains with low UV tolerance or low heat tolerance to ensure that it dies under uncontrolled environments. This, however, compromises on its virulence and applicability. Thus, our project aims to mitigate these GMO concerns without compromising its virulence and vitality.
