MONITORING FRUIT FLIES IN AVOCADO ORCHARDS IN MPUMALANGA

Three fruit fly species (Diptera: Tephritidae) are of economic importance in subtropical fruit production in South Africa, i.e., Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), the Marula fruit fly, Ceratitis cosyra (Walker) and the Natal fruit fly, Ceratitis rosa Karsch.
The avocado is not a good host for the development of fruit flies and usually under normal orchard practices no larval development takes place in fruit on the tree.
Damage begins when the female fly punctures the skin and lays eggs underneath it, which results in a star shaped crack lesion developing on the fruit.
Fruit flies are important quarantine pests and indirect losses result from quarantine restrictions that are imposed by importing countries, to prevent entry and the possible establishment of unwanted fruit fly species.
Fruit flies were monitored in avocado orchards at the ARC-Institute for Tropical and Subtropical Crops experimental farm at Burgershall near Hazyview in the Mpumalanga Province.
The orchards included a ‘Pinkerton’, a ‘Hass’ and a ‘Lamb Hass’ orchard.
Five yellow bucket traps with Biolure^®, a three component lure that consists of putrescine, ammonium acetate and trimethylamine were used.
Biolure is a food bait that attracts both males and females and is not species-specific.
Traps were placed in the orchards during September 2006 and fruit flies were monitored for a one year period. Ceratitis rosa was the most abundant species collected, while C. capitata and C. cosyra were also trapped.
More females in comparison to males were captured.
Peak numbers of C. capitata were present during April to July, while C. cosyra had peak numbers during January, April, September, August and October and C. rosa during January and February.

II All Africa Horticulture Congress

T. Grové, M.S. De Beer

Ceratitis capitata, Ceratitis cosyra, Ceratitis rosa, Tephritidae, ‘Hass’, ‘Pinkerton’, ‘Lamb Hass’

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2013.1007.51