Medfly population suppression through augmentative release of an introduced parasitoid in an irrigated multi-fruit orchard of central-western Argentina

Authors: SUÁREZ, LORENA - Government Of The Province Of San Juan; BIANCHERI, MARIA - Pilot Plant For Micorbiological Industral Processess And Biotechnology; MURÚA, FERNADO - Government Of The Province Of San Juan; ORDANO, MARIANO - National University Of Tucuman; RAMADAN, MOHSEN - State Of Hawaii; Wang, Xingeng; CANCINO, JORGE - Moscafrut Program, Sader-Senasica, General Directorate Of Plant Health, Mexico; GARCIA, FLAVIO - Federal University Of Pelotas; SÁNCHEZ, GUILLERMO - Government Of The Province Of San Juan; BELTRACHINI, SERGIO - Government Of The Province Of San Juan; KULICHEVSKY, LUIS - Government Of The Province Of San Juan; OVRUSKI, SERGIO - Pilot Plant For Micorbiological Industral Processess And Biotechnology

Submitted to: Insects
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/13/2023
Publication Date: 4/16/2023
Citation: Suárez, L., Biancheri, M.J., Murúa, F., Ordano, M., Ramadan, M.M., Wang, X., Cancino, J., Garcia, F., Sánchez, G., Beltrachini, S., Kulichevsky, L.E., Ovruski, S.M. 2023. Medfly population suppression through augmentative release of an introduced parasitoid in an irrigated multi-fruit orchard of central-western Argentina. Insects. 14(4). https://doi.org/10.3390/insects14040387.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/insects14040387

Interpretive Summary: The Mediterranean fruit fly is one of the most damaging invasive insect pests for fruit production and trade worldwide. The fly has invaded and widely established in South America. There are constant threats of invasion by this pest in southern US states because of its northward expansion. One natural enemy (a parasitic wasp) has been introduced into South America for the control of this pest. This study demonstrated that periodic release of mass-reared wasps could substantially reduce the medfly population in northwestern Argentina, a semi-arid temperate fruit-growing region with similar climatic conditions to some fruit growing regions in southern California. The information provided in this study could be useful for developing biological control programs proactively against this pest should it become established in the future.

Technical Abstract: Biological control through augmentative parasitoid releases is an important complementary tool in programs addressing different fruit fly eradication/control eco-friendly strategies. However, not enough information is available on performance of fruit fly parasitoids as effective biocontrol agents in semi-arid temperate fruit-growing regions. Our study reports the impact of augmentative releases of Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (Ashmead) on Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (medfly) populations during two seasons (2013 and 2014) in a 10-ha irrigated fruit-producing farm in the San Juan province, central-western Argentina. Parasitoids were mass reared on irradiated medfly larvae of the Vienna-8 temperature-sensitive lethal (tsl) genetic sexing strain. About 1,692 (± 108) parasitoids/ha were released per each of 13 release periods in both years. Another similar farm served as a control (non-parasitoid release). Adult medfly emergence based on fly trapping and recovered fly puparia from sentinel fruit were the main assessment variables and a generalized least squares model was used for data analysis. The substantial decrease in medfly population at the parasitoid release farm demonstrated the effectiveness of augmentative biological control. The exotic parasitoid D. longicaudata is a helpful tool that can be used in combination with other medfly suppression strategies in fruit-producing irrigated valleys of San Juan.