Editing Sterile insect technique (section)

==History==
The use of sterile males was first described by the Russian geneticist [[Alexander Sergeevich Serebrovsky|A.S. Serebrovsky]] in 1940,<ref>{{cite journal|author=Serebrovsky, A.S. |year=1940|title=[On the possibility of a new method for the control of insect pests] |journal= Zool. Zh.|volume= 19|pages=618–630}}</ref> but the English-speaking world came up with the idea independently,{{Citation needed|reason=The cited PDF shows Knipling first communicated the idea in 1946|date=August 2023}} and applied it practically around the 1950s. [[Raymond Bushland]] and [[Edward Knipling]] developed the SIT to eliminate screw-worms preying on warm-blooded animals, especially cattle; this was effective because female screw-worms mate only once. The larvae of these flies invade open wounds and eat into animal flesh, killing infected cattle within 10 days. In the 1950s, screw-worms caused annual losses to American meat and dairy supplies that were projected at above $200 million. Screw-worm maggots can also [[parasitize]] human flesh.
[[File:EdwardF.KniplingEntomologist.jpg|thumb|Entomologist Edward F. Knipling]]
Bushland and Knipling began searching for an alternative to chemical [[pesticides]] in the late 1930s when they were working at the [[USDA|United States Department of Agriculture]] Laboratory in [[Menard, Texas]]. At that time, the screw-worm was devastating livestock herds across the American South. Red meat and dairy supplies were affected across Mexico, Central America, and South America.

Knipling developed the theory of autocidal control – breaking the pest's reproductive cycle. Bushland's enthusiasm for Knipling's theory sparked the pair to search for a way to rear flies in a "factory" setting, and to find an effective way to sterilize flies.

Their work was interrupted by [[World War II]], but they resumed their efforts in the early 1950s with successful tests on the screw-worm population of [[Sanibel Island]], [[Florida]]. The sterile insect technique worked; near eradication was achieved using [[X-ray]]-sterilized flies.

=== Successes ===
[[File:Cochliomyia_hominivorax_distribution.svg|thumb|The map shows the current (orange) and former (yellow) distribution area and the approximate seasonal spread of the [[screw-worm fly]].]]
In 1954, the technique was used to eradicate screw-worms from the {{convert|176|sqmi|km2|adj=on}} island of [[Curaçao]], off the coast of [[Venezuela]]. Screw-worms were eliminated in seven weeks, saving the domestic [[goat]] herds that were a source of meat and milk.

During the late 1950s to the 1970s, SIT was used to control the screw-worm population in the US. In the 1980s, Mexico and Belize eliminated their screw-worm problems with SIT. Eradication programs progressed across Central America in the 1990s, followed by the establishment of a biological barrier in [[Panama]] to prevent reinfestation from the south. The map shows the current and former distribution area and the approximate seasonal spread of the [[screw-worm fly]].

In 1991, Knipling and Bushland's technique halted a serious outbreak of New World screw-worm in northern Africa. Programs against the [[Mediterranean fruit fly]] in Mexico, Florida and California use the SIT to maintain their fly-free status. The technique was used to eradicate the [[melon fly]] from [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]] and in the fight against the [[tsetse fly]] in Africa.

The technique has suppressed insects threatening livestock, fruit, vegetable, and fiber crops. The technique was lauded for its environmental attributes: it leaves no residues and has no (direct) negative effect on nontarget species.

The technique has been a boon in protecting the agricultural products to feed the world's human population. Both Bushland and Knipling received worldwide recognition for their leadership and scientific achievements, including the 1992 [[World Food Prize]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldfoodprize.org/en/laureates/19871999_laureates/1992_knipling_and_bushland/|title=1992: Knipling and Bushland - The World Food Prize - Improving the Quality, Quantity and Availability of Food in the World|first=Global Reach Internet Productions, LLC-Ames, IA-|last=globalreach.com|website=www.worldfoodprize.org}}</ref> The technique were hailed by former [[U.S. Secretary of Agriculture]] [[Orville Freeman]] as "the greatest entomological achievement of the 20th century."

[[South Australia]] has since 2016 been producing tens of millions of sterile fruit flies a week during peak summer months, as part of a program to control and eventually eradicate the [[Horticulture|horticultural]] pests.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-11-03 |title=Port Augusta producing 40 million sterile fruit flies a week to combat Riverland outbreaks |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-03/port-augusta-sterile-fruit-fly-production-doubled-riverland/103060124 |access-date=2023-11-03}}</ref>