Better Fruit with Nuclear Technology

Farmers in Croatia are using nuclear technology to tackle the Mediterranean fruit fly, a common pest that poses a serious threat to the country's lucrative fruit industry. With the support of the IAEA and the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Croatia is implementing the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT). This technique, also known as "birth control for insects", suppresses populations by breeding large numbers of males that are sterilised with a short burst of radiation. When released into the wild, they breed with females who in turn produce eggs that do not hatch.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• IAEA
• SIT
• Mediterranean
• fruit
• fly
• Croatia
• Neretva
• Valley

[barrymundy33]

This appears to be one of the few good uses of radiation. But it makes me wonder huuummmm, is mankind going down the same path of the fruit fly with Fukushima, nuclear testing, nuclear power plants etc? Thanks for the vid.

[arsacesofconcobar]

Better fruit! That's on the agenda of the IAEA news, but no word or comment whatsoever on the sabotage of Iranian nuclear facilities or the murders of Iranian nuclear scientists. The IAEA is a fraud and a sham to any nuclear proponent.

[nemodot]

This is great techology, along with food irradiation, it's a shame that it's being discarted by hardcore environmentalists.