Quote:
Originally Posted by bigjohn
They should simply use irradiation techniques. That would not alter the cigar, but would kill the beetle eggs.
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Some growers/manufacturers of tobacco do and it is very well studied as to the efficacy and treatment amounts needed for the tobacco beetle in all of its life stages for either disinfestation or sterilization. I do not know however if it is used by cigar tobacco growers/manufacturers.
Sterile release and irradiation programs have shown to be highly affective in recent years at controlling pest populations. The best example being USDA's prevention of Mexican Fruit Fly from entering the US along the Texas border. But the cost of sterile release and irradiation are high and usually only instituted in quarantine programs and not as a continual pest control method.
That said some of the most recent advances in irradiation and insect rearing are bringing these techniques within the realm of economically feasible so they may be adopted in the future.