The Sweet Potato Weevil has been Successfully Eradicated in South-western Islands of Japan

摘要

In November 2020,the sweet potato weevil Cylas formicar-ius was declared eradicated from Tsuken Island,Okinawa,Japan.This is the second eradication success of sweet potato weevil in the world,following the eradication achieved on Kume Island,also in Okinawa,in 2012.The eradication was achieved by the application of the sterile insect technique(SIT)integrated with the male annihilation technique(MAT).Despite the fact that both Kume and Tsuken Islands are small(63.65 and 1.88 km2 respectively),it took 19 and 13 years to achieve the eradication,much longer than the eradication of melon fly Zeugodacus cucurbitae on Kume Island,which only took about five years.Research indicated that,surprisingly,the pest's low dispersal ability was one of the main hindering factors in the eradication of sweet potato weevil on both islands.