Monitoring of fruit fly, Bactrocera zonata (Diptera: Tephritidae) population by installing traps in mango orchard Bahawalnagar, Pakistan.

Abstract

Mango is king of fruits and grown in various countries including Pakistan. The production of mango fruits in Pakistan is low due to attack of various insect pests especially fruit flies. Fruit flies are the major issue in the mango production. Fruit flies are considered as quarantine and key pests of Agricultural and horticultural crops causing huge losses in crop production. The current study was conducted at a farmer field in Bahawalnagar, to monitor the population of fruit flies installing different traps like bottle, jar, and pheromones traps (methyl eugenol) in mango orchards. Data were recorded from January, 2020-December, 2020. The results showed that maximum population of male fruit flies was captured in pheromones traps while minimum in jar traps. The population of fruit flies was emerged in month of April and no population was recorded in first three month and last one month of study. The June and July were the most favorable months for fruit fly attack on mango while December was least. Pheromones traps which are installed at 12 feet height from the ground surface captured 99% fruit fly population while lowest 30% population were captured at 4 feet height. Methyl eugenol trap were more effective to capture maximum population of fruit flies among tested traps. It can prove effective trap in controlling pest population in the mango orchards globally especially in Pakistan.