Olive fruit fly is one of the most important pests in the olive growing regions around the world. This pest sometime causes up to 100 percent damages. This fly has become a key pest in Iran. Since the female olive fruit fly lays eggs inside the fruit and the larva of the pest grows and feeds from inside the fruit, using chemical pesticides is not only impossible, but also it causes the absorption of large amount of toxins and contamination of the fruit oil. These problems have made the controlling of this pest a very difficult task. One of the best methods which is used in modern day is to sterilize the male fly by using Gamma ray. For this purpose, a project was carried out in the Nuclear Sciences and Technology Research Institute to control this pest.
In this project, first, olive fruit flies were collected from contaminated regions of Roudbar in Guilan and due to the importance of growing them on artificial food ration in lab conditions; they were reared on the artificial ration. By using various dozes of Gamma ray, the pupas which had grown were put under radiation and by using the method of determining the number of hatched eggs or larva loss, the best doze for sterility was obtained. In order to determine the best releasing ration, the relevant trials were performed first in the lab cages. To make the lab results operational, the sterilized insects were released on a single tree. The results showed the successful control of this pest on a single tree.