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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Miami, Florida » Subtropical Horticulture Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #400932
Research Project: Mitigation of Invasive Pest Threats to U.S. Subtropical Agriculture

Location: Subtropical Horticulture Research

Title: Comparison of fruit fly baits for management of the Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae) in mango orchards in southern Ghana

Author
item YEBOAH, SIMON - University Of Florida
item Kendra, Paul
item LIBURD, OSCAR - University Of Florida

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/30/2022
Publication Date: 3/13/2023
Citation: Yeboah, S., Kendra, P.E., Liburd, O. 2023. Comparison of fruit fly baits for management of the Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae) in mango orchards in southern Ghana. Entomological Society of America, Program Guide, Southestern Branch Meeting. Little Rock, AR. 12-15 Mar 2023.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae), is a quarantine pest of several fruits and vegetables in many tropical and subtropical regions. In Ghana, B. dorsalis causes the highest damage to mango production, leading to several stifling production constraints which immensely result in low yield, post-harvest losses and the ultimate rejection of the crop in the international market at the cost of the growers and the exporters. As part of efforts to monitor and manage B. dorsalis in mango orchards, several protein-based baits were deployed in Multilure traps and tested in a mango orchard to determine the most effective bait for monitoring and population suppression of this key pest. Among the baits compared were commercially available products such as the Nutrel 24 fruit fly bait (Nutrel-24), Great fruit fly bait (GFF), NuLure fruit fly bait (NuLure), Torula yeast pellets + borax; and locally prepared waste brewery bait (Local bait) and water as the control. Traps baited with torula yeast bait significantly attracted the highest number of B. dorsalis. There was no significant difference between B. dorsalis captured in traps baited with Nutrel-24, GFF and the local bait. However, all the baited traps captured significantly higher B. dorsalis than the control (water). The attractiveness of all the tested baits were biased towards female B. dorsalis. Overall, the results suggest that torula yeast incorporated with borax is the most effective bait for both monitoring and mass suppression of both sexes of B. dorsalis in mango orchards in southeastern Ghana.