Fruit fly research centre receives $3.7 million

Macquarie University researcher Associate Professor Phil Taylor and The Centre For Fruit Fly Biosecurity Innovation have received $3.7 million in funding as part of the Australian Research Council’s (ARC) Industrial Transformation Research Program.

The Centre For Fruit Fly Biosecurity Innovation will transform the way that horticulture industries combat invasive fruit flies that threaten Australian crops valued at $9 billion per year.

“For generations, Australia has relied on insecticides to protect crops. But concerns for consumer health and environmental damage have meant the most effective insecticides have recently been banned for many crops, leaving no equivalent replacements,” said A/Prof Taylor.

“The industry is currently in crisis from fruit flies, which are the world’s most devastating pests of fruit and vegetable crops. The overarching aim of the centre is to provide Australian horticulture industries with new tools for environmentally and medically benign control of fruit fly pests.”

The centre will run over five years, in partnership with Queensland University of Technology, the University of Western Sydney, the NSW Department of Primary Industries, the Queensland Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry, the CSIRO, the New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research, Ecogrow Environment and the NSW Department of Trade & Investment.

Macquarie Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Sakkie Pretorius said the centre will not only benefit Australia’s horticultural industries through the development of new ways to target pests, but will also provide a unique training environment for a new generation of scientists.

The Centre For Fruit Fly Biosecurity Innovation was one of five new Industrial Transformation Training Centres to receive a total of $20.9 million, alongside research programs in mining restoration, liquefied natural gas, prefabricated housing manufacturing and forest value.

For more information about the Industrial Transformation Research Program, please visit the ARC website.