How to Control the Olive Fly

Theolive fruit fly is the most dangerous pest for olive groves. This insect can cause such severe damage that it ruins an entire harvest, causing problems for both the olive trees themselves and the farms.

The main damage caused by the olive fruit fly is due to the feeding activity of its larvae. The larvae feed on the flesh of the olives, inside which they burrow deep tunnels. The drupe infested by the fly becomes susceptible to attack by microorganisms and bacteria. Damage to production is most severe when infestation occurs between summer and fall, that is, during the final ripening stage of the olive harvest. Even if part of the crop were to be saved, the resulting oil would be of poor quality.

Addressing the problem of this fly—and of insects in general—is certainly among the most complex challenges in today’s agricultural landscape and in the future.

In the battle against pests, the “weapons” available to olive growers are becoming fewer and fewer

How to Control the Olive Fly

There are two ways to control the olive fruit fly:

Chemical control
Biological control

In chemical control, the “weapons” available to olive growers are becoming increasingly limited due to ever-stricter European regulations that have virtually eliminated the use of historically more effective active ingredients (e.g., dimethoate)

As for biological control, the use of rock dust (e.g., kaolin) is becoming increasingly common as a deterrent to prevent the olive fruit fly from laying eggs on the outer surface of the olive fruit.

Thanks to organic treatments using these types of powders, it is possible to very effectively prevent attacks by the olive fruit fly.

Martignani Fights the Olive Fly

Martignani technology is capable of handling any type of product or mixture—whether organic or chemical—and transforming it into droplets of the exact size needed to cover all parts of the plant evenly and uniformly.

Martignani + rock dust is an absolutely winning and truly unmatched combination: to date, there are no similar sprayers (atomizers) that can compete in terms of efficiency and effectiveness with this technical solution, especially regarding the ability to apply concentrated mixtures and the near absence of clogging or blockage issues in the system.

Example of Martignani Dye Coverage in an Olive Grove

We conducted a field trial on olive trees in Molise, at 𝗹’𝗔𝘇. 𝗔𝗴𝗿. 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗴𝗹𝗶 𝗨𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗶.

The treatment was carried out using a Martignani Whirlwind M612 electrostatic sprayer, 1,000-liter capacity, Compact Turbo 1 model, on wheels.