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May 9th 2006: InSecta Ltd and the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London announced today that they have entered into an agreement to work together on projects to plan control of the Mediterranean Fruit Fly (Medfly) using the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT). The Imperial team, headed by Professor John Mumford, is internationally renowned for its work on planning pest control projects and developing systems for environmental management.
Prof. Mumford said, “In many cases SIT represents the best available alternative to control of insect pests using chemicals insecticides. Our collaboration with InSecta represents an excellent opportunity to build acceptance of SIT technology around the Mediterranean”.
Andrew Gardiner, Managing Director of InSecta said, “I am very pleased to have the opportunity to work with such an experienced team. Their ability to take a systematic approach to the design and economics of control programmes will significantly increase the value of the services that we can offer to customers around the Mediterranean. We hope that this will enable us to continue to build on the enormous current interest in developing SIT control for Medfly”.
About Imperial College London. Imperial College London is a leading scientific research institution with an interest in developing environmental technologies that can improve the quality of the physical environment, agricultural produce and working conditions on farms worldwide.
About Medfly. The Mediterranean Fruit Fly (Ceratitis capitata) is a major pest of citrus and other crops throughout the world. It is a highly invasive pest that can cause total loss of fruit production.
About SIT. The Sterile Insect Technique is based on the production and release of large numbers of sterile male insects that mate with the wild females, resulting in offspring which fail to develop. This causes the insect pest population to crash. SIT has been successfully used for control and eradication of Medfly and other insect pests in the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia, South Africa, Mexico & Chile. It has proved to be economical, environmentally sound and sustainable over huge areas. By providing a cost-effective alternative to chemicals it brings major economic, environmental and food-safety benefits to producers and consumers throughout the world.
For more information contact Andy Gardiner at InSecta on +44 20 7717 1566 or andy@insecta.co.uk
InSecta Ltd 90 London Road London SE1 6LN UK
Centre for Environmental Policy Imperial College London Silwood Park Campus Ascot Berkshire SL5 7PY UK |
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