Removal permit requirements lifted for SA lemons

Removal permit requirements for oriental fruit fly ( Bactrocera dorsalis) have been lifted for lemons.

This means that farmers no longer need to apply for a removal permit to move lemons out of any area where the fly is considered as either present or transient and under official control in South Africa.

This followed the acceptance of lemons as a non-host for B. dorsalis by the official B. dorsalis steering committee, which comprised the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development and industry representatives, following research conducted by Citrus Research International (CRI). The research was published in the Journal of African Entomology.

Wayne Kirkman and Elma Carstens, biosecurity specialists at CRI, said: “It’s a big benefit for lemon producers, as it frees up time and reduces costs for them, and means that [the department’s] time is freed up to spend on other issues.”

The exclusion of lemons as a host variety for the oriental fruit fly was especially good news for farmers in the Sundays River Valley region, where 40% of the total citrus production comprised lemons. Those that had other varieties of citrus would, however, still need to apply for a removal permit. Dr Aruna Manrakhan, research entomologist at CRI, noted that citrus growers were still required to monitor for B. dorsalis in each production unit code (PUC), even if the only citrus in the PUC was lemons.

“At least one methyl eugenol (ME) baited trap per PUC is required, with the recommended ME baited trap densities per 100ha varying according to the status of the area in South Africa with regard to B. dorsalis.”