BCFGA issues call for ALPP
International low-pest designation sought for apples as result of success with codling moth suppression effort.
By Judie Steeves A
first step has been taken to permit the promotion of apples from the Okanagan as ‘greener’ and environmentally-friendlier than those from any other growing area in the world.
An application for designation of the Okanagan-Kootenay Sterile Insect Release area as an Area of Low Pest Prevalence for codling moth has been submitted by the B.C. Fruit Growers’ Association to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
The ALPP designation comes under the International Plant Protection Convention International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures. It would be the first such
designation achieved in Canada, and the first in an apple growing region in the world.
The SIR board endorsed the application at its July meeting. Entomologist Hugh Philip, working on contract to the BCFGA, noted in his introduction to the application that the SIR program has been working since 1992 to suppress codling moth populations in commercial pome fruit orchards by releasing sterilized moths throughout the area and removing wild or un- managed host trees.
He noted that sales of organo- phosphate insecticides, traditionally used to control the moth, have
10 British Columbia FRUIT GROWER • Fall 2010
decreased by 83 to 96 per cent since fewer sprays are needed because of the success of the program. The CFIA’s role is to determine whether the application qualifies for an ALPP designation. It would also be responsible to restrict movement within the country of pests such as codling moth and to regulate importation of anything which could host codling moth from outside this country’s borders.
If the CFIA does not approve the application, Philip wrote, it would be denying the tree fruit industry the opportunity to realize economic benefits, among other things. A survey conducted by the BCFGA indicated the ALPP designation would not be costly, and could have considerable economic benefits because fruit could then be promoted
as having been grown in an environmentally-friendly way. Mating Disruption
The SIR board also decided at its July meeting to investigate the possibility of moving to codling moth control using a mating disruption program next year, at no additional cost to growers or regional districts. The board received a letter from BCFGA president Joe Sardinha requesting that the SIR board make the program financially sustainable in light of the reduction of apple acreage in the area and the difficult times growers are facing. Most importantly, he said he
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