Plant health authorities develop emergency eradication plan for Mediterranean Fly

Punta Cana.- Phytosanitary authorities from the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and the United States recently conducted a thorough inspection of the area known as “ground zero” in Los Corales, Punta Cana, where the Mediterranean fly was recently detected. The purpose of the tour was to gather information on the current situation of the pest.

Minister of Agriculture, Limber Cruz, led the delegation, which included international authorities from USDA APHIS, OIRSA, and Plant Health technicians from the Dominican Republic. The team inspected the field, carefully reviewing traps equipped with special attractants for each sex of the flies. The number of captures displayed a decreasing trend, indicating effective control measures.

The investigations and site visits revealed that the Mediterranean fly is well-contained within the same perimeter where it was initially detected. Minister Cruz reassured the public, stating, “There is no need to fear; we have the situation well under control. The technical and support staff from the Moscafrut-RD program, along with experts from other countries, are working diligently.”

Rosa Lazala, director of Plant Health of Agriculture, emphasized that the captures in the traps have decreased, signaling positive results from the ongoing efforts. She commended the hard work of technicians from the MOSCAMED-RD program, the MOSCAFRUT Agriculture team, and international experts.

Lazala mentioned that sterile males would soon be introduced into the country as part of the protocol to address the small infestation of the pest. Additionally, efforts are underway to develop an eradication plan.

The Minister expressed gratitude to OIRSA authorities for providing support materials to the Ministry of Agriculture for inspection, trapping, and monitoring tasks in the area.

Various activities, such as fruit picking, product testing, sampling of possible incidents, sending tests to the laboratory, tree pruning, cleaning, and the placement of new traps, are being carried out in the designated protocol zone.