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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Hilo, Hawaii » Daniel K. Inouye U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center » Tropical Crop and Commodity Protection Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #224642
Title: Extension of the use of Augmentoria for Sanitation in a Cropping System Susceptible to the Alien Tephritid Fruit Flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Hawaii

Author
item Jang, Eric
item Klungness, Lester
item McQuate, Grant

Submitted to: Proceedings, XXI International Congress of Entomology
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/20/2008
Publication Date: 7/5/2008
Citation: Jang, E.B., Klungness, L.M., Mcquate, G.T. 2008. Extension of the use of Augmentoria for Sanitation in a Cropping System Susceptible to the Alien Tephritid Fruit Flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Hawaii. Proceedings, XXI International Congress of Entomology.

Interpretive Summary: This study reports efforts to demonstrate to growers of fruiting crops a technique to sequester emerging adult flies while conserving their parasitoid natural enemies. The augmentorium (Pl. -a) is a tent like structure designed to retain fruit flies emerging from fruit but also let their natural enemies escape through a top screen. In a sequence of 4 phases (i.e. levels) of demonstration, staring with one grower, then two, then 15 in Kamuela, and finally 30 growers throughout the island of Hawaii, forty augmentoria were put into service. Flies emerging from the augmentoria were monitored, A total of 22,217 melon flies were trapped in Kamuela, which could have lain > 3.3 million eggs had they been released in the crop. The successful introduction of the augmentorium has implications for use of augmentoria to sequester the progeny of other insect pests and release their natural enemies.

Technical Abstract: Introduction: This study reports efforts to demonstrate to growers of fruiting crops a technique to sequester emerging adult flies while conserving their parasitoid natural enemies. Sequestering infested fruit to prevent progeny survival is often overlooked. Methods: Demonstration trials were conducted in 4 phases to determine whether growers on the Island of Hawaii would use a tent-like structure (augmentorium) to sequester fruit-fly infested, culled fruit. Results: In phase one it was shown that 1127 Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett) were recovered from cull fruit removed from the augmentorium, and that sanitation in combination with bait spray, and male lure trapping could reduce the level of infestation. Subsequently, phase two confirmed that the three techniques disrupted the breeding cycle and 2 farmers were convinced to use these techniques. In phase three, further expansion to 12 farms, whose 15 augmentoria were monitored, indicated that over 80% of the growers used the tents (22,217 adult flies recovered from the tents over 1260 days). In phase four, success of phases 1 to 3 convinced 30 farms to request 40 augmentoria and an opinion survey of those growers is reported. Conclusions: The successful introduction of the augmentorium has implications for use of augmentoria to sequester the progeny of other insect pests and release their natural enemies.