A STERILE INSECT TECHNIQUE (S.L.T.) STUDY PROJECT to CONTROL MEDFLY in a SOUTHERN REGION of ITALY

A STERILE INSECT TECHNIQUE (S.L.T.) STUDY PROJECT to CONTROL MEDFLY in a SOUTHERN REGION of ITALY

ENTE PER LE NUOVE TECNOLOGIE, ISSN/1120-5571 L’ENERGIA E L’AMBIENTE Dipartimento Innovazione OSTI A STERILE INSECT TECHNIQUE (S.l.T.) STUDY PROJECT TO CONTROL MEDFLY IN A SOUTHERN REGION OF ITALY A. TATA, U. CIRIO, R. BALDUCCI ENEA - Dipartimento Innovazione Centro Ricerche Casaccia, Roma STRIBUTON OF THIS DOCUMENT IS UNUWKE FOREIGN SALES PROHIBITED V>T Work presented at the “First International Symposium on Nuclear and related techniques in Agriculture, Industry, Health and Environment (NURT1997) October, 28-30, 1997 - La Habana, Cuba RT/1NN/97/28 ENTE PER LE NUOVE TECNOLOGIE, L'ENERGIA E L'AMBIENTE Dipartimento Innovazione A STERILE INSECT TECHNIQUE (S.I.T.) STUDY PROJECT TO CONTROL MEDFLY IN A SOUTHERN REGION OF ITALY A. TATA, U. CIRIO, R. BALDUCCI ENEA - Dipartimento Innovazione Centro Ricerche Casaccia, Roma Work presented at the “First International Symposium onNuclear and related techniques in Agriculture, Industry, Health and Environment (NURT1997) October, 28-30, 1997 - La Habana, Cuba RT/INN/97/28 Testo pervenuto net dicembre 1997 I contenuti tecnico-scientifici del rapporti tecnici dell'ENEA rispecchiano I'opinione degli autori e non necessariamente quella dell'Ente. DISCLAIMER Portions of this document may be illegible electronic image products. Images are produced from the best available original document. SUMMARY A Sterile Insect Technique (S.I. T.) Study Project to control Medflyin a Southern region of Italy Since 1967 ENEA, namely the main Italian governmental technological research organization, is carrying out R&D programmes and demonstrative projects aimed to set up S.I.T. (Sterile Insect Technique) processes. In the framework of a world-wide growing interest concerning pest control technology, ENEA developed a very large industrial project aimed to control Medfly (Ceratitis capitata Wied.) with reference to fruit crops situation in Sicily region (southern of Italy), through the production and spreading of over 250 million sterile flies per week. RIASSUNTO Dal 1967 il Dipartimento Innovazione dell’ENEA, cioe la principals organizzazione pubblicaitaliana di ricerca tecnologica, e impegnato in progranuni di R&S ed in progetti dimostrativi finalizzati a ottimizzare le procedure tecniche relative alia tecnica S.I.T.(Tecnica dell’Insetto Sterile ). Nel contesto di un crescents interesse mondiale circa le tecnologie di contralto dei fitofagi daimosi alle colture, l’ENEA ha sviluppato un rilevante progetto industrials finalizzato al controllo della Mosca Mediterranea della Frutta (Ceratitis capitata Wied.), con particolare riferimento alia realta frutticola della regions Sicilia (Sud-Italia), attraverso la produzione e la distribuzione di 250 milioni di mosche sterili alia settimana. 3 A STERILE INSECT TECHNIQUE (S.I.T.) STUDY PROJECT TO CONTROL MEDFLY IN A SOUTHERN REGION OF ITALY™. Keywords: S.I.T.(Sterile Insect Technique), Fruit crops, Radiation processing, Irradiation, Electron accelerator, EB-facility. INTRODUCTION The “Italian National Agency for New Technology, Energy and the Environment” (ENEA), under the auspices of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Atomic Energy in Food and Agriculture, began since 1967 to applythe Sterile Insect Technique (S I T.) against the Medfly in Italy, with experimental campaigns at Capri and Procida islands. At the same time, a large insectary for Medfly mass-rearing was set-up and managed at ENEA- Casaccia Research Center, near Rome, together with a multipurpose gamma irradiation facility, investigating and fixing main process parameters for an effective insects sterilization by means of ionizing 1 radiation. According to such an experience and taking into account the growing emergency in Medfly diffusion in certain Italian regions, ENEA was recently required from Sicilian Board of Agriculture Development (ESA - Ente Sviluppo Agricolo) to design the first commercial facility for sterile Medflies production, in order to control Medfly diffusion in the Sicily region and to reduce losses of citrus and fruit crops. Hereinafter it will be described, with particular evidence to engineering and ecological aspects, the first project study carried out by Enea; such a project is at moment under several basic changes from the Sicilian agricultural organizations, in order to fit with specific local requirements, like the additional need of antagonist insects or the enlarged use of the plant for the study of newand emerging technologies inagriculture. MASS-REARING FACILITY The proposed facility site is a plot land of about 80,000 m2 in the east side of Sicily (southern of Italy), near the city of Catania and well connected to transport network (mainly railways and paved roads). The process goal is a final weekly production of 1 billion sterile males of Ceratitis capitata (Medfly) insects, but starting with a first production rate of250 million sterile males per week in order to control Medfly population in a citrus and fruit production area of about 120,000 ha. 1 B lavoro e state presentato al “First International Symposium on Nuclearand related techniques in Agriculture, Industry, Health and Environment(NURT 1997)”. Havana, Cuba, 28-30 Ottobre 1997. 5 The final designed facility includes four separate modules, well foreseen as location but to be erected following a time schedule of some years, in order to collect technological improvements due to the experience gained from the first industrial S I T process unit management. Figure 1 shows the plant general lay-out: the central body (a “core”, 20x60 m) hosting the irradiation plant is common for all mass rearing modules. In the following is described one single module, having a total building area of 3,200 m2 (40x80 m). The chosen process takes into account suggestions and solutions utilized at the various S I T. facilities all over the world (Hawaii, Japan, Mexico-Guatemala, Portugal, etc.). The pre-irradiation process follows the Medfly life cycle, considering fourareas: • diet preparation and distribution (service area) • egging (opposition and incubation) • larval collection • pupal rearing and processing. Genetic sexing strain is performed by colour sorting at pupal stage, but the new TSL (Temperature Sensitive Lethal Strain) method at eggs stage is already foreseen (also if not adopted at earlyplant starting): to sort males at pupal stage, as a matter of fact, allows to carry on a larger insects population and allows, when TSL will be applied, the benefit of a males overproduction with same structures. Fig. 1 - Plant General Lay-out Figure 2 shows the Medflies flow along the different facility areas. 6 Egging is performed by means of suitable cages and trays, where weekly opposition overcomes 1.4 billion eggs; insemination/incubation is carry out in the adjacent area and a specific “bubblig” collecting area, not utilized at early functioning stage, is foreseen and equipped. Larval area allows the development and maturation of organisms; mature larvae (825 million/week) are separated from the spent diet (and the tray changed) priorto pupation stage; larval collection is performed through “popping” method (larvae are permitted to exit the diet) whereas allows, as from similar experiences, the best quality of insects. A vermiculite substrate on trays represents the most suitable bed for pupation stage (770 million/week); insect-vermiculite separation is achieved utilizing high efficiency settlers and resulting pupae (340 million/week), after genetic sexing strains, are marked, packed (500 g each small bag) and sent to irradiation facility. Final scheduled production rate, after irradiation and taking into account any losses, will be 275 million/week of sterile Medfly males to be spreaded on fields. STORAGE diet 1 SEPARATION y T—IlijLU-l'. Fig. 2 - Mass Rearing Facility 7 IRRADIATION FACILITY Medfly males sterilization is performed by irradiating mature pupae at doses of 70-90 Gy (7-9 krads). An EB(Electron Beam)-machine has been selected as ionizing radiation source, being, at present time, safer, more reliable and socially well accepted in comparison with gamma sources (Cobalt-60), whose capital cost, considering ancillary and safety systems, is comparable at industrial level. Electron accelerator is a LINAC (Linear Accelerator) type, having beam energy and power of, respectively, 10 MeV 0.5-1.0 kW. EB-machine features refer to a productivity of over a 1 billion of insect per week, so the irradiation facility is ready to accept the insect flowrate from other mass-rearing modules, also if in the early project stage only one production module is erected. The irradiation geometry is original and patented. A careful design allows to perform the process minimizing both hazards for workers and capital costs for shielding: as a matter of fact the irradiation cell is located under the soil level and the soil itself represents the main radiation shielding material. Figure 3 shows a vertical section of the plant: the incoming insects bags are automatically transferred under the soil where a suitable conveyor, hosted in a toroidal metallic structure, allows them to face the electrons beam and to be sterilized; a mirror-like path leads the insects, ready to be spreaded on fields, again outside. VENTILATION STACK EB-MACHINE CONSOLES WAVE GUIDE | PRODUCT LEAD PLUG entrance ] I EXIT EB-MACHINE - $ * SAND •' HEAD stairs ; TOROIDAL "CHANNEL' Fig. 3 - Irradiation Plant 8 ECOLOGICAL ASPECTS S I T. extensive on field application requires the availability of a large amount of data and information regarding the ecological aspects of the insects species in the controlled area. An original computer-based program, named “Geographical Information System (G.I.S.) - ECOMED”, has been developed in order to approach and assess an effective strategy overcoming any problem arising from ecological aspects in any stage of S I T. application in the selected region (Sicily in our study). The G.I.S.-ECOMED is a basic tool for the acquisition and management of a large amount of alphanumeric and geographical data, which are elaborated on a municipality basis (unit), allowing, in general terms: to study the Medfly ecology (survey and abundance); to plan the Medfly mass-rearing; to evaluate general costs of S I T applications; to analyse and interpret the obtained results.

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