Project commencement: The project commenced with the first face-to-face project workshop held in Port Moresby on 30 June 2006. Discussions were held between the PNG and Australian collaborators and personnel from ACIAR on which districts (and which sites within these districts) in PNG we would use to carry out experiments, which crops to study and which PNG agencies and personnel were available to participate in this project.
Project workshops and training: In addition to the PNG/Australia workshop mentioned above there have been several more conducted around the four districts in PNG at which various aspects of the project will be studied. NARI staff from Port Moresby travelled to the experimental sites/agencies in the four districts to demonstrate how to collect fruit, rear fruit flies and identify fruit flies for the project.
Experimental design: On a second trip to PNG Andrew Jessup and Andrew Beattie travelled to the four districts with district collaborators to view potential farms and orchards on which to carry out experiments. Experimental designs were worked out to suit each site/crop/district/fruit fly species combination with a view to each design being as similar to each other between districts as possible to allow for direct comparisons.
Farmer survey: Anna Kawi set up a Farmer Questionnaire on the knowledge of fruit flies and their impact on horticultural production. The survey has gone out to officers in all districts. The questionnaire is designed to be carried out at the beginning of the project (already achieved), during the middle and towards the end to gauge changes in grower knowledge/perception of fruit flies.
Fruit survey: Staff in each district are collecting fruit from identified farms within their district and rearing out flies which are counted and identified. We will soon have comprehensive lists of fly species, crops attacked, the severity of infestation, time of year crops are attacked as well as the economic impact of infestations on the grower.
Trap survey: Staff from each district have set up and placed out fruit fly traps capable of trapping the majority of pest fruit fly species. Flies are periodically collected, counted and identified to give a list of fruit fly species, numbers trapped, time of year and district.
PNG experiments: Experiments have commenced on bagging (a physical fruit fly exclusion method) individual guava fruit on tree, netting entire capsicum plants (another physical fruit fly barrier) and fruit fly baits in comparison with insecticides. More experiments are planned once experimental material is sourced in Australia and shipped to PNG.
Aust experiments: Experiments have commenced in Australia to design a physical system for the disposal of fallen/damaged/infested fruit in-field whilst allowing the survival and dispersal of fruit fly parasitoids (a form of biological control of fruit flies). Also tests on new female fruit fly lures and traps have commenced.
Analysis: Data from previous ACIAR projects on PNG are being analysed by John Allwright Fellows in the Queensland University of Technology.

An impact assessment survey has been conducted in eight locations over three provinces in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The survey has shown that farmers recognise fruit flies as major pests, but don't generally use control strategies because they don't fully understand the ecology of the insect. These results indicate that more information should be provided to farmers to help them understand how to better manage fruit flies. It is planned that this survey will be conducted at least once more during the course of the project to gauge the impact that the project has on farmer's awareness and management strategies for fruit flies.

A bagging experiment on guava fruit conducted earlier in the project demonstrated that bags made from old newspapers provide complete protection from fruit fly infestation when they are applied to fruit prior to maturity. Replicated trials with capsicum (3 locations) and banana (1 location) are currently being conducted in PNG. These trials compare the efficacy of different management methods, including protein bait spraying and male annihilation technique (MAT). The results from these trials conducted in PNG will form the basis of fruit fly management strategies to be developed for each of the different regions being investigated in the project. The results from these trials will also be used to educate farmers on the management options that may be available to them and to produce extension materials. In Australia, work has continued on the development of improved female fruit fly lures and traps.

The replicated trials are visited weekly by technical staff and this provides an opportunity for ongoing communication with local farmers. Farmer training has been conducted by
NARI and FDPA staff in locations where the experiments, fruit fly trapping and fruit sampling have been taking place. The training covers topics including the ecology of fruit flies, different fly species, and different management options. It is planned that demonstration trials will be set up later in 2008 to help continue this training. Written extension materials will also be prepared. Students at PAU and technical staff from the collaborating agencies have also been involved in a number of training workshops.
A draft manuscript for submission to a peer-reviewed journal has been prepared that reports the relationship between the distribution and abundance of populations of five economically important fruit flies (data collected in previous project CS2/96/225) and environmental factors, such as altitude and annual rainfall. It is anticipated that this paper will be published in the near future.

Research trials were conducted in four provinces in Papua New Guinea (PNG) to investigate the efficacy of various fruit fly management strategies. These have been completed and the results are now being collated for analysis. The results of these trials will provide useful information regarding the effectiveness of management strategies such as protein baiting, male annihilation technique, fruit bagging and local pesticide use in each location and crop. An economic analysis based on a single farm case study should help to determine if the level of control achieved from the management strategies provides benefits that outweigh the cost of the technologies themselves. If this is found to be the case, a recommendation will be made to further develop the supply-chain for these technologies, which are currently not commercially available in PNG. These research trials have also provided an opportunity to train regional research and extension staff. The knowledge that they have gained through this project will enable them to train new staff joining their organisations, as well as lead farmers in their respective communities.
Extension activities including the development of printed materials, radio and farmer talks have been ongoing throughout the project. The aim of these activities has been to create awareness about the project and to provide basic information about what fruit flies are, how they affect crops and what can be done to reduce their damage. These activities will be continued. Following on from the results achieved in the experimental trials, it is anticipated that an extension strategy will be implemented to allow some of the producers with larger farms to trial the technologies for themselves. If these producers are satisfied with the results of their own trials it may help to generate a demand for the technologies, which will aid in developing a supply-chain for the products. This exercise will also provide a participatory learning environment for local extension staff.
Research trials in Australia investigating mineral oil products and changes to existing protein baiting programmes are ongoing. The results from these trials will be used to help make regulatory decisions regarding fruit fly eradication methods and to assist horticultural industries make informed decisions regarding the various fruit fly control options available to them.
With the finalisation of all research trials and the development of extension materials and strategies, this project will be completed during the next nine months. It is anticipated that the outputs from this project will form the basis for the development of a supply-chain for the technologies trialled, which are currently not available in PNG.