As urban crops decline with harvest and bird predation in the summer Qfly populations also decrease while peri-urban and rural increase. This reflects the movement of Qfly from urban, through peri-urban and into rural areas from mid-summer to autumn.
Forecast
Although Stone fruit harvest is almost complete, most of the GMV’s commercial horticulture i.e. apples, pears, tomatoes and red varieties of grapes are harvested over the next couple of months. These crops are especially prone to attack by Qfly. At the same time Qfly is moving away from the protection of fruitful refuges in urban areas of the GMV to the attractive commercial orchards surrounding many GMV townships. This is a dangerous situation for commercial horticulture properties situated close to these urban locations. As harvest continues, Qfly moves further out into outlying orchards following a pathway of ripening fruit.
Removal and correct disposal of unwanted fruit is an important control measure in reducing future fruit fly problems – especially in urban and peri-urban areas that are close to commercial orchards. If Qfly host fruit trees and plants are unwanted by landholders, now is a good time to have them removed to help protect our commercial fruit and vegetable crops. On farm, the removal of unmanaged fruit trees from around buildings, sheds, channel banks and fencelines will also help reduce Qfly breeding habitat near commercial crops.
Current Qfly Hot Spots
Lemnos Mooroopna
Kaarimba Merrigum
Nagambie Yarrawonga
Coomboona Gunbower
Shepparton Orrvale
Is it too cold for Qfly to mate?
Qfly mates only at sunset and only when temperatures exceed 15°C. These conditions have persisted throughout March and, when current sunset temperatures are compared with the average, they have been somewhat higher than normal up until mid-March. Consistent low temperature sunsets are not anticipated until mid-May.
Weather
Weather forecasts for the GMV suggest that Qfly buildup will continue until May due to maximum and minimum temperatures being in the comfort zone for Qfly. Maximum temperatures for most of April are likely to be from 17°C to 30°C and minimum temperatures mostly from 6°C to 15°C. A small amount of rainfall is forecast for the week from 6 April. Relative humidities will be medium to high favouring Qfly survival and spread.
Currently sunset temperatures are not low enough to stop Qfly from mating, so new eggs will be laid into any available fruit. This is an especially dangerous time for commercial harvests currently occurring.
