Advances in the sterile insect technique for controlling codling moth

The sterile insect technique (SIT) involves the mass release of sterile insects to reduce fertility of wild populations of the same species. The codling moth is a major global pest of apple and pear crops that has invaded 71 countries and 5 continents. In this paper, advances in mass rearing, sterilization and the release of sterile insects for codling moth control are introduced, including artificial diet, population construction, rearing facilities and conditions, adult collection and quality control, long distance transport, sterilization source and equipment, radiation sensitivity, release method, marking and saturation rate. The effectiveness of SIT in countries that have used this technique is reviewed. The codling moth had now been found in Xinjiang, Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Jilin and poses a serious threat to China’s fruit industry. The introduction of SIT’s to China is therefore both timely and important.