Telangana horticulture university, Virginia Tech join hands to tackle fruit fly menace

Sri Konda Laxman Telangana State Horticultural University and Virginia Tech University will collaborate on research to tackle rising fruit fly infestations and other crop pests. The study will focus on integrated pest management across 25 vegetable villages near Hyderabad.

Hyderabad: Sri Konda Laxman Telangana State Horticultural University and Virginia Tech University, USA, have decided to collaborate for research on the management of fruit flies—pests that infest and damage trellis-grown vegetables such as bitter gourd, ridge gourd, bottle gourd, and cucumber.

A team comprising Virginia Tech scientists, including renowned global entomologist Dr Muniappan and economist Dr Anupa Gupta, on Saturday visited the Horticultural University and met with the Vice-Chancellor Dr Danda Raji Reddy

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During the meeting, it was noted that fruit fly infestations in pandal-grown vegetables have recently surged, and relying solely on chemical controls would prove difficult in the long run. Consequently, the need to adopt integrated management methods—rather than depending exclusively on chemicals—was emphasised.

It was decided that the Horticultural University, in partnership with Virginia Tech, would undertake new research across 25 ‘vegetable villages’ near Hyderabad. This research will focus on managing pests such as thrips in vegetables, fruit, and shoot borers in brinjal (eggplant), and diamondback moths in cabbage and cauliflower.