The Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA) stated that 7 mango-producing farms had been enabled to export the fruit to the European market. The farms are located in the municipalities of San Luis and Venadillo, department of Tolima, they have a production area of 64.79 hectares, and grow Tommy, Keitt, Filipino, Van Dyke, Yulima, and Nam Dok Mai mango varieties, among others.
The farms authorized by the ICA met the requirements for monitoring and control of the fruit fly for mango exports to the European Union included under the Systems Approach measure, registering density values within the BAT strategy (Fly/ Trap/ Day) that are lower than or equal to 0.5 for Anastrepha spp.
In Colombia, production sites must have a surveillance system for fruit flies with a McPhail trap every 20 hectares for at least three months before the start of the harvest and throughout the rest of the year. Controls must be carried out on a weekly basis and the attractive used must have an official registry. In addition, the fallen mango fruits of all the varieties planted in the place or even of the host plant species must be collected and properly disposed of; this work should be done every seven days. Furthermore, the collection center must be sheltered.
Producer compliance with these measures and the ICA's extensive support to consolidate areas that are free and areas that have a low prevalence of fruit flies and other quarantine pests have allowed Colombia to implement the Systems Approach to dispatch mangoes to the European Union without having to apply additional quarantine treatments.
Source: ica.gov.co