Fruit flies that attack rose apples often disadvantage the farmers, causing harvest failure. But now there is an effective way to combat the fruit flies, which is a fruit fly trap.
It is made by a group of students of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Reka Indera Malis, Ilham Satria Raditya Putra, Adlina Pinka Nada, Giry Xavira Putri, and Muhammad Afin Al Basyar.
Reka said they were concerned with the fruit condition, particularly the Dalhari rose apples that are found in the Jogotirto village, Sleman regency. Harvest failures often happened there. The farmers often try to wrap the fruit with paper or plastic prior to fruition to protect it from the fly. But this traditional technique cannot cover all the fruit that hidden behind the leaves or are too high on the tree top.
During a Student Creativity Programme funded by Higher Education Ministry, the students developed a fruit fly trap that can resolve the problem.
“We designed the fruit fly trap so it can emit aromas similar to pheromones emitted by female flies to attract the males. The male flies will stick to the inner wall of the trap and eventually die,” Reka said on Tuesday (16/7) at UGM.
The liquid in the trap needs refilling every three weeks but it can operate after this duration.
Ilham said the student team socialised the tool to 39 farmers in June so that they can operate the trap and make it by themselves. “We hope the fruit fly trap can help the farmers resolve the pest problem,” he said.