PJB-2023-484
INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT OF FRUIT FLIES WITH BAIT, LURE AND NATURAL INSECT REPELLENT IN CHIKOO/SAPOTA (MANILKARA ZAPOTA) ORCHARD
NASIR SHAH
Abstract
Chikoo is among soft fruits prone to fruit fly infestation. Different integrated pest management (IPM) approaches were adopted to figure out post treatment population dynamics and level of fruit fly infestation in a chikoo orchard and identify best possible practice for checking fruit fly population. Two factors factorial experiment in a six acres chikoo orchard 30×30 feet apart in square system under RCBD design was divided in three blocks including six treatments Male annihilation technique (MAT) with & without sanitation; Bait application technique (BAT) with & without sanitation; Neem seed extract 2% with & without sanitation and nine Days of observation of fly population (fortnightly from 1st Jun to 30th of Sep). In terms of male fruit fly population on 30th Sep compared to initial population, it was observed that most significantly (F = 4.83, P < 0.001*) effective among interaction was MAT + sanitation, providing 93.89% reduction over initial population (mean 618 ± 47.05 on 1st Jun and 38 ± 4.86 on 30th Sep flies trap-1). Infestation declined distinctly in all combinations when observed fortnightly. A non-significant (F = 1.02, P = 0.455ns) interaction effect was recorded after the application of treatments in terms of fruit fly pupae recovered from one kg chikoo fruit on 30th Sep compared to initial pupae recovered. However, BAT + sanitation was most effective among treatments, showing about 91.60% reduction over initial population (mean 124 ± 12.87 on 1st Jun and 10 ± 0.89 on 30th Sep pupae kg-1 chikoo fruit). Comparatively, MAT + sanitation treatment resulted in lowest significant (F = 52.44, P < 0.001*) mean number of male flies (283 ± 32.53 trap-1) trapped in monitoring traps. While, BAT + sanitation resulted in lowest significant (F = 8.61, P < 0.001*) mean number of pupae (31 ± 6.79 kg-1 fruit) compared to other treatments. Overall, lure, baits as well as natural insect repellents when combined with sanitation effectively reduced fruit fly population leading to lesser infestation in chikoo orchard. However, more promising management may be achieved if these strategies are employed cooperatively at community level or on a larger scale.
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