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Israeli researchers have boosted the yield and altered the colour of apples growing in commercial orchards by stretching plastic nets with specific optical qualities over the canopy. Their ‘smart nets’ could provide an alternative to genetic modification, they say. Yosepha Shahak of the Volcani Center, part of Israel’s Agricultural Research Organization in Bet-Dagan and colleagues collaborated with plastics experts to develop a series of nets, each of which combines a filter to screen out all but a specific portion of the radiation spectrum – including ultraviolet and infrared as well as visible wavelengths – with different shading factors. The altered light reaching the trees activates photo-receptors and light-dependent pathways in different ways, and these then interact with other physiological processes that depend on climatic factors such as temperature and humidity to affect the size, colour and possibly even flavour of the fruit – though flavour has yet to be tested. The physiological pathways are so complex that it will be some time before they are able to unravel them, says Shahak, but one and a half harvests into the experiment they are already identifying trends.

The most dramatic effect is on the size of the fruit. “The ratio of the largest apples, those with a diameter of 75 millimetres or more, is six times higher with the best performing nets than in the unnetted control condition,” she said. With a black net of the same shading factor – that is, a net that screens out every portion of the spectrum evenly – the ratio of the largest fruit was doubled, indicating that a part of the effect is due merely to the intensity of the light and possibly protection from sunburn. Sunburn is a major problem for fruit-growers in hot countries, with certain varieties being particularly susceptible. “With Granny Smiths, for example, you can get up to 50% of the yield lost to sunburn,” said Shahak but the major part of the effect on fruit size must be due to another factor, she says – the filtering through of only a selected part of the spectrum.

As well as apples, Shahak’s team are testing the technique with grapes, strawberries, and peaches. Their experiments were inspired by the “very dramatic” effects they observed in previous studies using the nets on crops of flowers and plants to be sold in pots. Using red and yellow nets, they grew flowers with longer stems – a major factor determining the price of cut flowers. Whereas, says Shahak, “A blue [net] causes dwarfing, which is also beneficial for certain purposes.”

Eric Curry, a plant physiologist at the US Department of Agriculture’s Tree Fruit Research Laboratory in Wenatchee, Washington describes the new approach as “innovative” and likely to be very useful. He warns, however, that the studies will have to be carried out over several years to show the effect is sustainable, pointing out that fruit growers have to manage their trees in order to be able to rely on a consistently good harvest year after year. That means removing a proportion of the flowers so that only some develop into fruit – thereby preserving the tree’s resources. “Practices which modify physiological processes like flowering and yield in the first year, often impact the same and/or other processes in subsequent years,” he said. So he would like to know how future harvests will be affected by the nets.

Shahak’s findings were presented at the beginning of October at a meeting of the American Society for Horticultural Science in Providence, Rhode Island.

Article contributed by Ivan Gee.

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Peggy writes about John’s recent talk at our December meeting

The life force of the aborigines and a source of fascination for some of the rest of us, bush foods challenge our palates and our creative genius. Jokes are often made (‘You can live on it but it tastes like ****’ —Crocodile Dundee) and many jams concocted (meeting with mixed reviews).

John King, creator of `Rainforest Liqueurs’, has taken up the challenge to produce some very unusual – and very palatable — liqueurs and sweetmeats which he shared with those who attended December’s meeting. On the whole people seemed impressed by the cheesecake (made with tofu, ricotta and macadamia nuts), glace lilly pillys and sandpaper figs, Ficus coronata (my favourite!), the dried small-leaf lilly pilly, Syzygium luehmannii (which can be ground and used in curry powder), and John’s wattle and Kandertal (desert lime) liqueurs.

A soft-spoken man, behind John’s mild-mannered exterior is a powerhouse of knowledge and expertise. A chemical process technician with BP at their Brisbane Oil Refinery by trade, John has an understanding of the chemical processes involved in making liqueurs and preserving food. He has also taken it upon himself to learn almost everything there is to know about setting up a business in the food industry (town planning requirements, health and legal aspects, etc.) A keen bushwalker, amateur botanist and cook, it seems natural that John would venture into bushfoods. In addition, John says that he comes from an area in the United States’ Appalachian Mountains that has a long history of using native plants.

John’s interest in Australian native plants and bushfoods started in the early 1970s. When he decided to turn his interest into a business venture, he needed just the right property to provide the essential ingredient: the bushfoods. He wanted 60 to 100 acres in the Maleny area, it had to have flowing water or a good dam site, be south facing and if possible have some rainforest. In 1987 he found the spot, in the upper Mary Valley of the Conondale Range: 92 acres with five acres of river flats and a permanent creek flowing through it; it had rising slopes to an east west ridge and about 20 acres of rainforest on the south facing slopes. With river flats, a flowing creek, cleared and uncleared areas and views, all in one block, it seemed an excellent proposition for providing lifestyle as well as income. (John’s property, which has eight hectares of forest containing 20 rare and three endangered species, is listed with the Brisbane Herbarium.)

John would be the first to point out the difficulties of making a living from bushfoods. In fact, one of his comments about people involved in this fledgling industry is that they are in it more for the lifestyle than for the business. John was quoted in the October 2000 issue of `Acres Australia’ as saying that “not only is the bushfoods industry 3,000 or 4,000 years behind conventional horticulture, which is using fruits which have been hybridised and selected over that period to improve fruit quality and consistency of yield and flavour, but you have to value-add to generate sufficient economic value to get a return”. And, of course, this is what John is doing by producing liqueurs, glace fruits and seasonings. Note that John does not distil his liqueurs. He uses a pure white Australian rum which he flavours with various bush fruits and flowers.

One of the secrets to John’s `value-adding’ is sugar. John says that “most of the fruits that people grow and eat have been selected and developed for their sugar content. If you go back to the original apple, they were small and very sour, some only 10 to 20mm across. The flavour components are there in the fruits, the sugar just brings out and enhances the flavours.” John is able to bring out the hidden flavours in bushfoods by adding sugar, and he believes that his interest in cooking is behind his understanding of combining the flavours and tastes required to make his `Rainforest Liqueurs’.

There are very few plantations of bushfoods and John has no intention of developing his own property as a plantation but has been replanting the wild seed from the area in a natural style back to his property. Some fruits and leaves are bought in for processing as they are not natural to the area eg Kandertal (aboriginal name for Citrus glauca — Desert Lime) Gidneywallum (Podocarpus elatus — Brown Plum Pine) Wardnee (Eucalyptus staigeriana — Tangy Ironbark). Because of Australia’s variable weather patterns, supply is often unreliable. John also points out that, unlike cultivated fruits, flavours of bushfoods can vary significantly depending upon where they grow, introducing another uncertainty into the equation.

But uncertainties aside, the medicinal and nutritional value (Ficus platypoda, commonly known as the Rock Fig and growing anywhere from the Brisbane mangroves to central Australia, has 1200 mg/100 g of calcium as opposed to milk with 124 mg/100 g. That’s ten times more!) of bushfood is certain. John believes that if we can put aside our conventional taste `hang-ups’ and pre-conceived notions, the flavours of the bush will become an acceptable and sought-after aspect of Australian cuisine.

John is currently Chair of the Queensland Bushfoods Association, an organisation that is very similar to the Rare Fruit Council with people interested in the growing and utilisation of plant foods. Their meetings take the form of an open discussion on a topic and then they sample the food which people bring along. For anyone who is interested, meeting dates are the first Saturday in February, May, August and November, from l0am to 2pm in the courtyard room of the Mt. Cootha Gardens Library.

If you wish to contact John regarding any of his products or for more information about setting up a business in the bushfood industry, you can call him on (07) xxxx xxxx or email him at xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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Usually I put a frame around my mango trees but this method is good for trees with just a few fruit. Mind you the method has its problems with big mangoes such as R2E2. I clean the milk containers as soon as the milk is used up and before any residues dry in the container so it’s easier to clean.  Before fitting over the mango I also put a couple of small holes in the bottom to allow any water to drain. To fit over the mango, slice from the top down one side just enough to fit over the mango and move the container so that the round opening is on the stalk. Container should then hold in place. I haven’t had to, but if necessary you could always tie it in place. I have only started using the method this year and it seems to work well. I had one on one of my R2E2s. I did have trouble fitting one onto my 1-20 or 20-26 as it was a big mango I had to eat in 2 sittings. Container & mangoes usually drop to the ground when ready and I simply walk around the trees and look for containers on the ground most mornings. I didn’t have enough containers when I started but will be better organised next year. I still get birds & wallabies getting through my nets so the milk containers may help here. The container probably stops fruit sucking moths as well. One of the photos is from Robert Pulvirenti and the other is mine; a Palmer which being long & thin as opposed to large and round, fits easily in the container.

Sourced from: 

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Last year I grew jicama in my vegetable garden and I can recommend it as a vigorous, easy to grow and unusual edible tuber. Jicama is a climbing vine producing large, sweet, heart-shaped crispy tubers and is used as a salad vegetable or as a crunchy addition to fruit salads. It can also be cooked and used like water chestnuts. The tuber is very crisp when peeled and sliced. It can be eaten raw, garnished with chilli pepper and lemon juice, salted, used a vegetable sticks with dips, or stir-fried.

Jicama originated in Mexico and is also known as Mexican yam bean, Mexican potato or Mexican water chestnut. It is a high-protein, low fat dietary staple in many areas. Sometimes another vegetable, the Yacon, is also called Jicama although it is a completely different plant. This is because the word “Jicama” means “edible root” in Spanish (see my article on Yacon in the last issue).

Please note that, unlike other beans, the seeds, pods, leaves and flowers of jicama are poisonous.

Mature pods and seeds contain ROTENONE, a potent poison. It is only the tuber that can be eaten.

Jicama is a member of the bean family, (the Leguminosae), so like other legumes, it fixes nitrogen and produces pods and seeds. It is easily grown from seed. If it flowers, these should be removed, as flowering will reduce the root size. Dig the tubers when they are small – about 10 –15 cm, as larger roots may become  woody. Usually the foliage will have died down by this time. The roots may be safely stored in the refrigerator.

The only problem I had growing jicama was slugs having a nibble at the tubers. This can be controlled with snail bait (organic snail bait is available).

Easy Jicama Salad

1 small jicama tuber, 1 capsicum, 1 zucchini and 1 carrot

Peel and slice the above into thin julienne strips. Dress with a mixture of 4 tbspns olive oil, 2 tbspns lime juice, salt and pepper.

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Dr. Greg Partida, who has been teaching at Cal Poly for the last 30 years in the area of Ag Biology and Fruit Industries, gave the lecture on avocados. He has a B.A. from Cal Poly in Agriculture Biology, an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Integrated Pest Management at U.C. Riverside. He was Farm Manager of the University orchards for 23 years and has consulted in the cultural practices of avocado throughout the California production area and in the Dominican Republic.

In California the avocado industry is undergoing radical changes, mostly due to competition from other countries, the increasing costs of production and worker’s compensation insurance. The avocado tree of the future will be no taller than an average man can reach in order to dispense with the use of ladders in the orchard.
It is Dr. Partida’s opinion that any grower with trees that cannot be pruned, sprayed and harvested by a man standing firmly on the ground will be out of business in five years.

His most important point was that most avocados are under-watered. This is particularly important during the flowering period. He is a great believer in mulching and states that you should leave all prunings under the tree to release their nutrients back into the soil. Avocados love cow manure and you should heap aged manure in a donut shape around the tree just as you would spread fertilizer. Do not leave it up against the trunk but pile it up in a ring to out past the drip line so the feeder roots of the tree will come up through the mulch. This goes back to lots of water!!! With roots at the surface the tree needs adequate moisture without sitting in water.

The leaves on a healthy avocado should be 12 to 15 inches long and 8 inches wide. If your tree is under par, Dr. Partida recommends a combination of humic acid and P205 fertilizer used as a soil-drench twice a month for sick trees. The humic acid should be mixed at a rate of 1 oz: 1 gal. humic acid is one of the most biochemically active elements in humus and he swears by it to stimulate wood growth. It is a liquid product derived from decayed organic matter with a capacity to collect plant food elements and release them as the plant requires.

The last recommendation he made that was unusual was to plant three to four varieties of avocado in the same hole to increase pollination, yield and lengthen harvest times. This procedure was backed up by another speaker in his lecture on Backyard Orchard Culture.

“Festival Of Fruit” Pomona, California, June 18 To 21, 2004
www.mrfc.org/articles/notes/

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I asked the rarefruit yahoo group what control methods they used on their trees to protect against frost and Roger Meyer from California and Erica from Florida said to cover the tree with old sheets right to the ground. You can pin the sheets together with clothes pins. You must use fabric. Shadecloth does not work. Then you need a heat source under the tree and various methods were given by other members eg. a lighted candle, outdoor Christmas lights, or you can take one of those outdoor extension cords, which also has a hanging hook and light socket at the end and hang that under the sheets on a tree branch. This will keep the temperature a few degrees warmer than the outside. Another of our members in Sydney, Jason Rukowski, has also been affected by frost so he has also purchased Marix fabric which will be used next year for cold protection.   Several of our members have also used the product Envy without success. I looked up their website and it says: Envy is a frost protectorent and anti transpirant which can substantially reduce moisture losses by up to 50%, eliminate sun & windburn damage as well as increase frost tolerance by an additional 4 Degrees. 

From a rarefruiter:  “It was incredible to see the results of our frost protection and the damage that an extra degree can do to plants. Our sprinklers come on when the air temperature reaches 0 degrees, this was at 11.30 pm last night so by sunrise there was a thick coating of ice over everything. The ice prevents the cells inside the plant from freezing and therefore prevents damage by the frost. The sprinklers stay on all night so by the morning there is a thick layer of ice covering the plants. As it melts the plants do not suffer from internal damage and as you can see these young seedlings do not look as though they have been through a -4 degrees frost. What happens is when you sprinkle water on the plant ice forms but when new water goes onto the plants the original ice that has formed around the plants releases heat of up to 10 degrees which protects the plant. The application of water has two beneficial effects regarding frost protection. The drier the air becomes then more heat is lost into the atmosphere, so humidifying the air reduces the amount of heat radiated away and the severity of the frost. The constant application of water to plants maintains the surface temperature around zero-ish degrees which is generally more tolerable and less damaging than if it continued to drop to several degrees below zero.”

Authored by: 

Compiled by Sheryl from the web

Sourced from: 

Sub-Tropical Fruit Club of Qld. Inc Newsletter October – November 2007

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You don’t need to wait for 10 years to know if you have Langsat (Lansones), Duku or Longkong if you planted a Lansium species by seed. Mature Duku trees don’t have the bitter taste in the leaves so you need to compare the leaves of Duku and Langsat to know the difference. Sometimes even fruit experts have a hard time identifying Lansium species especially when they are looking for superior species or selecting a superior species of Langsat. In my experience, Longkong and Langsat tend to grow vertically, while Duku grows horizontally and tends to have a wide canopy if not pruned properly. If you really want to know what Lansium species you have, try tasting their leaves.  Langsat has a bitter taste on the leaves that’s why also when you accidentally bite on the seeds you get the bitter taste.  Sometimes we mistaken Langsat and Longkong for the same because of leaf similarities but this how we differentiate between them. On the other hand, Longkong has no bitter taste in the leaves, try eating the undeveloped seeds and small seeds, you could eat Longkong even the seeds that’s why people say its seedless because even the seeds could be eaten because of no bitter tastes but often Longkong fruit have no seeds at all and only have undeveloped seeds in it so chances of getting a big seeded Longkong is like 1:15 ratio.  I already have done it, and it’s funny because I am not accustomed to eating a Lansium with seeds in it because we always eat Lansones and spit the seeds.

Also there is a way to avoid the gummy latex in Langsats. When you squeeze them properly, the tendency is that you’re going to have less gummy latex in your hands but if you’re an erratic eater of Langsat then you will need to wash your hands after eating to remove the gummy latex –  alcohol should do the trick! 

Warning:  Never eat a kilo or 2 of Lansones or any of the Lansium species without eating anything.  It is the custom here to eat Lansones after meals for dessert purposes but for a snack, eat 2-5 fruits only or regret it. It’s too acidic to eat Lansones on an empty stomach. 

To summarize: Duku has shallow, thin, crenate, smooth leaves. No bitter taste in leaves of mature trees. Horizontal canopy. Langsat (Lansones) has shallow, thick, acute, hairy leaves. Bitter taste on leaves & seed. Tree grows vertically.

Longkong has deep, thick, crenate and smooth leaves.  Leaves not bitter.  Tree grows vertically.

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It has been known by several common names including Chilean Guava, murta, murtilla and Tas Myrtus Berry. In New Zealand it is being erroneously sold and marketed as the ‘NZ Cranberry’. It has a taste of a combination of strawberry, pineapple and apple. The plant is a native to Chile and is a small evergreen shrub with small leathery leaves. It grows to a size of about 1.7m high and 1.5m wide and tolerates a wide range of soil conditions. Once established the plants do not mind drought conditions but watering during establishment is a good idea. A good thick mulch/compost is also appreciated. Some texts list the plant as being frost sensitive, others do not. Slow growing evergreen bush forming a compact shrub of approximately 1.5m. Self-Fertile. This attractive fruiting plant has small dark green leaves with new growth tinged with red. Grow it as a low growing hedge, in a container or as a garden specimen. In summer this plant smothers itself with fluffy white flowers. Flower in summer and fruit is ripe February to March. This attractive small fruit is red in colour. Allow fruit to become lighter in colour before harvesting to ensure the best taste. The taste can only be compared to a tiny sherbet bomb – sweet and tart. Best eaten on its own to really appreciate its aromatic flavour. Great also as a jam with punch, or a sauce topping for ice cream. The Ugni is frost hardy and will grow in any soil providing there is moisture. This plant, unlike most other fruiting plants, grows and fruits well in partial shade. Prune after fruiting to maintain shape.

Propagation   Seedling tubes with plants 25cm tall are the best to plant. 1.5m (in row spacing), 2–3m between rows to allow access.

Yields  1kg of fruit per plant in Year 3. A 1kg increase per plant each year from Year 3 onwards.

Sheryl:  I recently attended the Elleslie International Flower Show in Christchurch and tasted these small fruit. Well worth putting a couple in.   Good article in Louis Glowinski’s book The Complete Book of Fruit Growing in Australia

Authored by: 

STFC newsletter Apr May 2010

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 Methods of fruit fly control have not changed markedly over the last decade. The following are the methods that people can consider:

Dick Drew:  1. Protein Bait Spray: Pinnacle Yeast Autolysate applied as a spot spray to fruit trees, usually gives adequate control when applied over large areas (i.e. in small urban backyards, it is usually not very effective unless a number of households implement the strategy collectively). For best results, the protein is applied in approximately 50ml spots per tree when the fruit on the trees are at the mature green to ripe stage. That is because the fruit trees bearing ripening fruit attract the flies into the area, which can then be targeted with the baits.

2. Netting: Using 50% shadecloth or other netting with a similar gauze size will exclude fruit flies. This works well in the small urban environment (backyard, lot, etc.). It has the advantage of excluding birds, possums, and other pests that feed on fruit, as well as giving protection against fruit flies. For fruit trees, it is best to prune them to a manageable height, and then cover the entire tree with the netting. Trees that cannot be pruned can have branches covered in netting sleeves.

Sheryl  –  I will be making up some sleeves using various types of netting so you can slip them over whole branches as some of the bags that were used by members were not successful.

Oscar

• Focus on fruits that fruit flies don’t like.
• Pick fruits while still hard, before the fruit flies sting them eg pick pawpaw just as they turn yellow.
• Bag all fruits.
• Eco Naturalure attract male and female flies.

Try making a fruit fly trap. All you need to buy is a small bottle of methyl eugenol which is a pheronome attractant. Use an empty one gallon milk plastic bottle. Dip an ear cotton swab in the methyl eugenol and attach it to the lid, so that the cotton dipped swab is on the inside of the bottle. Punch a few pea sized holes on the top of each side of the bottle. Place an inch of soapy water, dishwashing soap, on the bottom of the container. The flies will enter, fly around and drown in the soapy solution. Hang these bottles away from your mango trees. Inspect weekly and empty as necessary. I have read also of people using sticky tape and putting a few drops of the methyl eugenol on the sticky tape. This might be easier in areas with very few flies.

Ken   Bags work great especially in combination with the methyl eugenol lures.

Pests and Diseases Image Library (PaDIL) has great photos of pests or diseases. It is a Commonwealth Government initiative, developed and built by Museum Victoria’s Online Publishing Team, with support provided by DAFF (Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) and PHA (Plant Health Australia), a non-profit public company. Project partners also include Museum Victoria, the Western Australian Department of Agriculture and the Queensland University of Technology. Additional image providers include: Dr Laurence Mound (ANIC, CSIRO); Dr Roger Shivas (Queensland Department of Primary Industries); and Dr Mallik Malipatil (Agriculture Victoria, Department of Primary Industries).      http://www.padil.gov.au/

Using Pesticides

Find out the latest news on labelling, such as recent changes by visiting the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) website on  http://www.apvma.gov.au/  If you don’t have the right equipment, only choose licensed spray contractors to carry out your spraying needs. The ´Search for a Sprayer´ section of the DPI&F website is a good resource to check this.

Errol  & Regina’s recipe:  I’ve had good success with Wild May in controlling fruit fly. We tried the standard soft drink bottle method where you put the WM in the bottom of one bottle and have access for the FF through 2 cut-off tops of soft drink bottles one on each side of the main bottle however because of the cost of the wild may, Errol decided to change over to a new system he saw in the Mackay RFC newsletter.  We got a plastic peanut butter bottle with a wide top then put a bit of wire through the lid and hung a bit of polystyrene soaked in WM. This didn’t seem to work so he modified the system and got a small vanilla bottle and hung that inside the plastic peanut butter bottle and put a piece of foam rubber in the neck of the vanilla bottle 50ml cut the top off the plastic vanilla bottle and put a couple of pieces of wire in the top and hook it through the lid of the peanut butter bottle and put the WM in that then put some water in the bottom of the container so the WM attracts the bugs but the WM doesn’t get full of insects so you don’t have to keep straining it. Half an inch of water in the bottom of the peanut butter.

Annette McFarlane reports: Yates has discontinued production of several chemicals based on the active ingredient, Malathion which also goes under the name of Maldison. Also to go will be products based on Carbaryl and Dimethoate eg Rogor.  Less toxic or naturally derived alternatives such as Confidor, Dipel, Success, Pyrethrum and PestOil are suggested as substitutes.

Fruit Piercing Moths:  When near ripe fruit develops soft spots that cause premature ripening, fruit fly is often to blame. Breaking open the fruit will reveal larvae which help to confirm the diagnosis. When no larvae are present, suspect attack from the fruit piercing moth. As moths are active at night, few gardeners ever encounter them. Fruit sucking moths are large with a wingspan of up to 6cm. The wings are usually dark brown with distinctive orange markings. The moths pierce the skin of pawpaw, tomatoes, citrus, persimmons, bananas and other fruit then suck out the liquid contents. A black spot remains at the point of entry with flesh around this either becoming soft and pulpy or dry and pithy, depending on the fruit attacked. Spraying is not an option. Either pick the fruit before it is ripe, cover with paper bags. An outdoor light that attracts insects is an option but remember that it will attract a lot of other insects including beneficial ones.

Fruit Fly Bait for Organic Growers

Organic growers may finally have an effective control against fruit fly. Naturalure^™ Fruit Fly Control Bait is a BFA registered organic fruit fly control product for male and female Queensland fruit fly and Med Fly and has recently received APVMA registration. Naturalure^™ is a specially formulated protein bait spray for attracting and killing both male and female fruit fly. The active chemical in the product is based on the same active found in the BFA registered organic caterpillar and thrip spray Entrust Naturalyte^™ Insecticide called Spinosad – a naturally occurring toxin produced by a soil bacterium.

Naturalure^™ is now used as the benchmark bait treatment for both male and female fruit fly around the world. The main advantage over other bait sprays is that it attracts females as well as males, so it is a complete fruit fly control bait. Because of the highly attractive nature of the bait, the application rates are half that of other bait sprays. The other advantage it has over conventional bait sprays is a low impact on beneficial insects. Applications are targeted at the foliage in the upper parts of the tree and contact should be avoided with fruit as there is a chance of burning. Mangoes are particularly sensitive to the bait spray. TM- Naturalure is a registered trademark of Dow Agrosciences and is available from BFA registered company Organic Crop Protectants.     www.ocp.com.au  Best to spot spray foliage – not fruit as some can blemish

Over the last few years I lost most of my guava crop to fruit fly so last year  I tried Wild May in combination with Eco natural lure and it works.  The first year I still lost a small amount to fly but I kept the traps out all year.  This really wipes out the males and the Eco natural lure takes care of whatever is left. I had a somewhat controlled experiment with my trees at work – they were totally infested but at home I had a good untouched crop.  I was usually getting four to five flies per trap at home per week but now that’s down to about two. At work I had, no word of a lie, in the first week, 50 flies per trap.  I place the traps about 10-20 metres apart not the 50 metres as advised after that the numbers started to drop to the point whereby now I only catch 4 per week.    Jason Rukowski – Sydney