U.S. Testing Natural Fruit Fly Pesticide
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WASHINGTON — Scientists at the Department of Agriculture say they may have found a natural choice that is better than malathion when it comes to combating the Caribbean fruit fly.
They have been testing the use of a substance called abamectin. When used in a bait of sugar and yeast, the natural chemical interrupts the fly’s life cycle.
“Abamectin is effective at low concentrations and degrades rapidly,” said Jimmie R. King, a chemist at the Agricultural Research Service’s Subtropical Horticulture Research Laboratory in Miami.
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