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© Oikoplus
© Oikoplus
© Oikoplus
© Oikoplus

REACT Engages Media in Naousa to Showcase Localised SIT Strategy Against Invasive Fruit Flies

15 Sept 2025

From 1–3 September 2025, REACT welcomed a group of international journalists to Naousa, northern Greece — one of Europe’s most important deciduous fruit regions (peach, nectarine, plum, persimmon, citrus). The visit coincided with the field release of sterile Mediterranean fruit flies (Ceratitis capitata), part of REACT’s effort to demonstrate a flexible, locally deployable Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) tailored to Europe’s fragmented fruit production systems.

 

The press trip was designed to increase awareness and understanding of REACT’s approach beyond the scientific community, ensuring that policymakers, plant-health authorities and agricultural media gain insight into how SIT can be adapted to European conditions. Participants followed several stages of the operational chain.

  • Characterisation & modelling of orchard landscapes and medfly population dynamics
  • Small-scale rearing and irradiation — a compact 40 m² facility producing up to half a million sterile males per week
  • Quality control & field release protocols based on flight performance and mating competitiveness tests
  • Innovations such as microbiome-based fitness enhancement and a rapid molecular diagnostic kit that distinguishes infested fruit within 1.5 hours — critical for trade and border inspection services

On site, Prof. Nikos Papadopoulos (University of Thessaly, WP5 lead) provided context on the current spread of invasive tephritid fruit flies in Europe and the challenges of applying area-wide SIT in regions dominated by small, diverse farms. Project coordinator Marc Schetelig (Justus Liebig University Giessen), Antonis Augustinos (University of Thessaly), George Tsiamis and Panagiota Stathopoulou(University of Patras) complemented with technical and microbiological insights.

 

The outreach impact is already visible: over 20 media articles in Greek, French and English have been published since the visit. French broadcaster France 5 is preparing a dedicated feature for early 2026, extending REACT’s visibility to a mainstream European audience.

 

By engaging the media directly at the field site, REACT demonstrates not only a technical pathway for rapid containment and eradication of emerging fruit fly incursions, but also how proactive science communication can help plant-health innovation reach growers, regulators and the public before new pests become entrenched.

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Join the survey

The REACT project is developing sustainable strategies to protect European fruit and vegetable production from invasive fruit flies by improving eco-friendly control methods like the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT). This survey gathers expert and stakeholder input to shape these solutions and assess their impact.

 

We invite farmers, agricultural experts, policymakers, researchers, and industry representatives to take part in a 30–45 minute survey to share your insights on managing invasive fruit fly threats. Your perspective will help shape effective, sustainable pest control strategies for Europe’s agri-food systems.