Research Article Open Access

Monitoring of Population Density and Fruit Infestation Intensity of Tephritid Fruit Flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Citrus reticulata Blanco Orchard.

Abstract

Pakistan is a vital global producer and exporter of the fruits and its citrus production is mainly reliant on mandarins. Generally, a few percent of the citrus produced is lost during pre and post-harvest stages primarily due to insect pest attacks specially the fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae). Monitoring of fruit flies insect pests for their prevalence and incidence can give a better understanding of the numbers and the species present in the field as well as their degree of economical losses. The study reported in this paper was designed to test the Citrus reticulata Blanco var. mandarin with the aim to determine the population density and fruit infestation intensity of fruit flies in orchard. The present groundwork study had shown the presence of peach fruit fly Bactrocera zonata (Saunders) year round in citrus fruit orchards of the experimental site with its highest and the least numerical density and fruit injury intensity. Monitoring of fruit fly population in C. reticulata orchard indicated that the highest density of B. zonata (27.83-79.58 per trap per week) and fruit infestation (3.33-3.70%) were found in October and November. The least numerical density (1.20-1.56%) from May to July may be due to beginning of the fruit settings of the orchards when the oranges were still dark green and small size compared with 1.40% in December as a result of winter season causing poor survival of B. zonata. This information will ensure early detection of fruit flies entering in the orchard and timely application of protective sprays to prevent establishment and spread of adult pests.

Muhammad Sarwar, Muhammad Hamed, Muhammad Yousaf and Mureed Hussain

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