Normally Christmas time at the Brookes’ means the friendly faces of families flocking to pick cherries from their orchards in Barmera, but this year the growers will be forced to watch the birds eat them off their trees instead.  

Key points:

  • SA’s primary industries department is managing 16 outbreaks of Queensland fruit fly in the Riverland
  • Fruit movement restrictions are in place across the region until March next year 
  • The state government has spent $20 million so far on measures to eradicate the pest 

Husband and wife Ann and Peter Brooke have farmed cherries in South Australia’s Riverland for many years and have allowed community members to come onto their block and have a “pick your own” experience.

However, ongoing and widespread fruit fly outbreaks in the region have caused restrictions to be placed on their property, which means fruit cannot be moved off their premises.

“Last year we got hail so we didn’t pick a cherry,” Mr Brooke said.

“This year the crop is better than last year and we’re not going to pick a cherry either. Not a single cherry.”

The Brookes had their entire cherry crop destroyed by hail last year.(ABC Rural: Eliza Berlage)

It has been almost two years since the state’s primary industries department declared the first outbreak in the Riverland and the Brookes are just some of those concerned it is becoming impossible to eradicate the pest. 

“They [PIRSA] haven’t got a hope in hell,” Mr Brooke said.

“This year was bad for fruit fly because it was cool and the hot weather knocks it around a bit but it’s gone mad.”

The Brookes are unable to sell their cherries due to fruit fly restrictions in the Riverland.(ABC Rural: Eliza Berlage)

Dream becomes a nightmare

Up the road at Renmark North, Raj Ghuman and her husband, Jujhar Singh Bal, said they did not factor in the costs of managing fruit fly when they bought a successful stonefruit business.

“The spray cost and fumigation cost if you want to send it to Adelaide — these are the main ones,” Ms Ghuman said.

“Then there’s the cost of wastage and audits.”

Ms Ghuman says fruit fly restrictions for commercial growers have been tough.(ABC Rural: Eliza Berlage)

Ms Ghuman said it was disappointing commercial growers had to operate under strict rules.

“Mostly all of these outbreaks are from backyard fruit trees,” she said. 

“Two years [of restrictions] is a long time, so we don’t have any hope [that it will be eradicated].”

Ms Ghuman says the costs of managing fruit fly have been high.(ABC Rural: Eliza Berlage)

Reason to be optimistic 

Despite concerns from growers, the Department for Primary Industries and Regions SA [PIRSA] said ongoing efforts to eradicate the pest were yielding results. 

Some of these efforts include fly trapping, replacing unwanted fruit trees, detection dogs and releases of around 20 million sterile fruit flies a week. 

Contractors remove olive trees from a home in Waikerie as part of PIRSA’s voluntary tree replacement program.(ABC Rural: Eliza Berlage)

“The numbers have dropped right off from that early peak in spring,” fruit fly response team leader Nick Secomb said. 

“So, the signs are good that we are doing is working.”

Minister for Primary Industries Clare Scriven said while the region was in flood, government attention on the issue of fruit fly had not been lost. 

“Once the flooding dissipates, and clean-up begin, we want fruit fly eradication to still be on track too,” she said.