The effectiveness of field pest management and culling at harvest for risk mitigation of two fruit flies affecting citrus in China

Authors

  • Yulu Xia Center for Integrated Pest Management
  • Jiayao He Institute of Plant Quarantine, Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine, Beijing, 100176, China
  • Hui Liu Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Institute of Fruit Research, Changsha, Hunan 410125, China
  • Fulian Xiao Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Institute of Fruit Research, Changsha, Hunan 410125, China
  • Linzuo Xiao Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Dongkou County, Shaoyang, 422300, China
  • Xingli Ma NSF Center for Integrated Pest Management, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27606, USA
  • Guocai Lu Institute of Plant Quarantine, Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine, Beijing, 100176, China
  • Zhushan Lin Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Dongkou County, Shaoyang, 422300, China
  • Xubin Pan Institute of Plant Quarantine, Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine, Beijing, 100176, China
  • Gecheng Ouyang Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Conservation and Resource Utilization, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Guangdong Institute of Applied Biological Resources, Guangzhou, 510260, China

Abstract

The oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephrtitidae), and the Chinese citrus fly, Bactrocera minax (Enderlein) (Diptera: Tephritidae), are 2 destructive citrus fruit pests in China. A field study was conducted during Sep to Oct of 2018 in Dongkou County of Hunan Province to assess (1) fruit infestations at the time of harvest under 2 management levels, and (2) the efficacy of culling at harvest (i.e., visual inspection and removal of the infested fruits) on reducing the number of infested fruits. A total of 26,400 fruits of Satsuma mandarins, Citrus unshiu (Swingle) Marcov (Rutaceae), were harvested from 2 groves with 1 representing highly managed groves, and the other representing commonly managed groves (low management). Fruit culling was conducted immediately to separate fruits into 5 groups: (1) B. minax infested fruits, (2) B. dorsalis infested fruits, (3) B. minax + B. dorsalis infested fruits, (4) suspected fruit fly infested fruits, and (5) fruit fly free fruits. Fruit dissection was conducted 4 wk later to determine the actual number of the infested fruits, and also to act as a check on the accuracy of visual inspection on the reduction of the number of infested fruits. The highly managed grove had 0.02% infested fruits vs. 2.19% in the low managed grove, a 99.09% reduction in infestation rate. Culling reduced the infested rate to 0.0077% in the highly managed grove and 1.14% in the low managed grove, a reduction of 62% and 48%, respectively, compared to that before culling. About 99% and 73% of fruits which were identified as infested actually were pest free in the 2 groves, respectively. The result of this study suggests that field management is highly effective and critical in reducing fruit fly infestation. The efficacy of culling at harvest on reducing the number of infested fruits was moderate. The accuracy of using culling for identifying the infested fruits was unreliable.

Resumo

La mosca oriental de la fruta, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae), y la mosca china de los cítricos, Bactrocera minax (Enderlein) (Diptera: Tephritidae), son dos plagas destructivas de los cítricos en China. Se realizó un estudio de campo durante septiembre a octubre del 2018 en el condado de Dongkou de la provincia de Hunan para evaluar (1) las infestaciones de frutas en el momento de la cosecha bajo 2 niveles de manejo, y (2) la eficacia de la eliminación selectiva en la cosecha (inspección visual y eliminación de los frutos infestados) sobre la reducción del número de frutos infestados. Un total de 26,400 frutos de mandarinas Satsuma, Citrus unshiu (Swingle) Marcov (Rutaceae), fueron recolectados de 2 huertos, con 1 representando huertos sumamente manejados y el otro representando huertos comúnmente manejados (bajo manejo). Se separaron las frutas inmediatamente en 5 grupos: (1) frutas infestadas con B. minax, (2) frutas infestadas con B. dorsalis, (3) frutas infestadas con B. minax + B. dorsalis, (4) frutas sospechadas de ser infestadas con moscas de la fruta, y (5) frutas libres de moscas de la fruta. La disección de frutos se realizó 4 semanas después para determinar el número real de frutos infestados y también para actuar como una verificación de la precisión de la inspección visual sobre la reducción del número de frutos infestados. El huerto sumamente manejado tenía un 0.02% de frutos infestados versus un 2.19% en el huerto comúnmente manejado, una reducción del 99.09% en la tasa de infestación. El descarte de frutas daňadas redujo la tasa de infestación al 0,0077% en el huerto sumamente manejado y al 1,14% en el huerto comúnmente manejado, una reducción del 62% y 48%, respectivamente, en comparación con los niveles antes del descarte de las frutas daňadas. Aproximadamente el 99% y el 73% de las frutas que se identificaron como infestadas en realidad estaban libres de plagas en los 2 huertos, respectivamente. El resultado de este estudio sugiere que el manejo de campo es altamente efectivo y crítico para reducir la infestación de moscas de la fruta. La eficacia del descarte de las frutas daňadas para reducir el número de frutos infestados fue moderada. La precisión de utilizar la selección para identificar las frutas infestadas no fue confiable.

Key Words: systems approach; Bactrocera minax; Bactrocera dorsalis; fruit dissection; phytosanitary measures

View this article in BioOne

Downloads

Published

2021-01-17

Issue

Vol. 103, No. 4 (December 2020)

Section

Research Papers

License

Copyright for any article published in Florida Entomologist is held by the author(s) of the article. Florida Entomologist is an open access journal. Florida Entomologist follows terms of the Creative Commons, Attribution Non-Commercial License (cc by-nc). By submitting and publishing articles in Florida Entomologist, authors grant the FOJ and Florida Entomologist's host institutions permission to make the article available through Internet posting and electronic dissemination, and to otherwise archive the information contained both electronically and in a hard printed version. When used, information and images obtained from articles must be referenced and cited appropriately. Articles may be reproduced for personal, educational, or archival purposes, or any non-commercial use. Permission should be sought from the author(s) for multiple, non-commercial reproduction. Written permission from the author(s) is required for any commercial reproduction.