Field trapping of fruit-flies Dacus spp. (Diptera: Tephritidae) using methyl eugenol over a five week

period was conducted in a fruit farm at Gombah, Selaugor, The results showed that traps with slit holes caught

the greatest number of fruit-flies. Over 85% of the flies caught were male, Dacus dorsalis, Hendel. When

different formulations of methyl eugenol; malaathion 50EC + methyl eugenol, Carbaryl85S + methyl eugenol,

Dipterex SP 95%) methyl eugenol and distilled water + methyl eugenol were tested at Serdang significant

differences 'were only detected in the number of flies trapped in those traps with methyl eugenol -I- insecticides

and those 'with methyl eugenol alone. The technique use were effective in controlling the fruit-flies for there

was a reduction of 20% of damaged carambola fruits

Ibrahim, A. G.

King, H. S.

Singh, G.

Universiti Putra Malaysia Institutional Repository

Pertanika, 2(1), 58-61 (1979)Trapping of the Fruit-flies, Dacus spp.(Diptera: Tephritidae) with methyl eugenol in OrchardsA. G. IBRAHIM, G. SINGH and H. S. KING'Department of Plant Prolection, Faculty of AgriclIltllH:, [Jni'i.Jersiti Pertanitm Jlala.vsiaKey words: Fruit-fly; Dacl/s dorsalis; Methyl eugenol; Insecticides; Slit hole traps; Orchards.RINGKASANPellanglwpan lalal buall, Dacus spp, (Diptera: Tephritidae) dengan meng,guna}wn bahall panarek,methyl eugenol selama 5 minggu telah dijalanlwll di fwwasan duszm Gombah, Selangor ,Keputusan menunjuk-fum peranghap jel1is <Slit hole' adalah lebeh berhesan dalmn penanglwpan lalat buah, Lebelz daripada 85%lalat yang ditanglwp adalah lalat jantan, Dacus dorsalis, Hendel, Apabila berbagai formulasi methyl eugenol:J11alathioll 50EC + methyl eugenol, Carbaryl 85S + methyl eugenol, Diptere:\' SP 95% + methyl eugenoldan air + methyl eugenol digzwa}wll di lwwasan Serdang,perbezaan signijicant tentang bihmgan penanghapunlalat buah cuma didapati diantara peranglwp yang mengandongi penarek racun serang,ga dengan tanpaberaclln. Cara yang telah digzmalwn itu didapati berhesan dalampengawalan lalat buah oleh herm/a terdapatkelwrallgan kerosaldwll pada buah Carambola sebanyak 20%.SUMMARYField trapping of fruit-flies Dacus spp. (Diptera: Tephritidae) using methyl etlgenol over a jive weekperiod 1.vas conducted in afruit farm at Gombah, Selaugor, The results showed that traps with slit holes caughtthe greatest 11li11zber of fruit-flies. Over 85% of the flies caught were male, Dacus dorsalis, Hendel. Whendifferent formulations of methyl eugenol; illa/athion 50EC + methyl eugenol, Carbaryl85S + methyl eugenol,Diptere.'\' SP 95%) methyl eugenol and distilled 'lcater + methyl eugenol were tested at Serdang significantdifferences 'were only detected in tlte number of flies trapped in those traps with methyl eugenol -I- insecticidesand those 'with methyl eugenol alone. The technique used 'l!,..'as eifecti'lie in controlling the fruit-flies for therenYts a reduction of 20~;) of damaged carambola fruits.INTRODUCTIONFruit-flit:s (Diptcra: Tephritidae) arc con-sidered a major economic pcst problem espccianyin devcloping countries. New important fruitproduction are,lS are being threatened becausesome fruit-flies are currently expanding theirgeographical areas. (Cunningham et ai, 1978).The most notorious fruit-flies are the lVledi-teranean fruit-fly (Ceratitis capitata, "Viedemann),Oriental fruit-fly (Dacus dorsalis, Hendel), melonfruit-fly (D. cucurbitae, Coquilett) and Queenslandfruit flies (D. tlyonii).In l\Ialaysia, Yunus and Ho (1970) recorded28 Tephritids damaging both tropical fruits andvcgetables. The dominant species are D. dorsalis,D. cucurbitae and D, umbroslts. Though thesespecies are polyphagous yet they show preferencesfor certain crop species. For instance, D. umbrosllsis more common in jack-fruits. Thc diverserange of host plants affected by fruit-flies speciesshow their wide adaptability.Some aspects of the biology of the dominantspecies, D. dorsalis using fresh papaya mediumhave been studied. (lVliller, 1940; Ibrahim andGudum, 1978). The eggs are laid in the fruitrinds and the larvae on hatching burrow and feed,well protected ·within the fruits. "Vhen the fruitdrops they pupatc at a depth of 2 3 cm. in friablesoil (Ibrahim and IVlohamad, 1978) emergingonly as adults to reinfest the fruits. T'he depthof pupation of Tephritids is not affected by bio-chcmical properties of the soil but by their physicalstructures (Cavallaro and Delria, 1975). Theabsence of a weak link in their biology makes itimperative for control measures to be affected1 Sime Darby Plantation Bhd, Agronomic Advisory Unit, Seafield Estlltc, Batu T'iga, Selangor.58A. G. IBRAHlM, G. SINGH AND H. S. KINGduring their adulthood. Further, the situationhere is made more difficult as fruit-flies breedall the year round.Several methods arc currently being usedfor their control. Sanitary and cultural techniquesare commonly practised. Fruit farmers alsoresort to wrapping their crops with papers in thecase of carambola fruits or with thatched palmsfronds or jute or perforated polythene sackingfor larger fruits. Vegetable farmers usc insecti-cides. Biological control and Sterile InsectTechnique (Harris, 1975) have not been adoptedin 1V1a1a1'5ia but attractants such as methyl eugenolhave been used on a limited scrtle as its reliabilityis questionable.The present study was undertaken to evaluatethe effectiveness of trap designs using methyleugenol and also to assess the efficiency of differentinsecticides when incorporated with methyleugenol.MATERIALS AND METHODSField trials wcrc conducted at two sitesnamely Gombak (12th milestone KL. Kuantan)and Serdang, Selangor. 'The former was a mixedfruit farm consisting of Citrus (CitnJs spp.),rambutan (Nephali1i11l lappaceu11l) and durian(Durio zebethinus). The Serdang site consistedonly of Carambola trees (Averrhoa cara11lbola).Fruit-f1.y trapping using methyl eugenol wascarried out for five consecutive weeks at eachsite.The traps were hung to each tree, spaced9 m apart, 1.5 m above the ground. Every thirdday, the traps were recharged with water orinsecticide solutions and the trapped fruit-flieswere counted and identified. The design usedwas a Completely Randomized Block with fourreplications. The treatments within each blockwere again replicated four times. The resultswere analysed and the means were separatedwith the Duncan lVlultiple Range Test.Trial 1: Types of trap designThis trial, at Gombak, started in the firstweek of July 1972. Four different types of trapdesigns viz, round hole, slit hole, square holeand rectangular hole were tested (Fig. 1). Eachtrap was fitted with two pieces of wire (diam0.1 cm) for suspending the traps horizontally oneach tree. A piece of cotton-wool soaked withmethyl eugenol (2 ml) and sufficient ·water to wetit was suspended from the top surface of eachtrap. A total of 64 trees were used covering anarea ca. 0.5 hectare,59Trial ]1: Incorporation of methyl eugenol 'withdifferent insecticidesThis trial, at Serdang, started in the secondweek of September, 1972. The three differentinsecticides viz. l\1alathion 57 EC, Carbaryl 85Sa~d Dipterex SP 950/0 were each incorporated\\'lth methyl-eugenol. The cotton wool \",ithineach trap was soaked with the specified insecticide(10 cc/gall) and methyl eugenol (2 ml). A totalof 128 trees wefe lIsed covering an area ca. 1.25hectares. Assessment of damaged fruits basedon the presence of feeding punctures was madeby selecting 100 ripe fruits at random before aswell as at the end of the field trial.RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONDacus dorsalis \",as the predominant speciescaught both at Gombak and Serdang. At Gombakit comprised 86.70/0 and at Serdang 98.40/0' Theremainder were Dacus umbrosus and D. cucurbitae.lVlethyl eugenol therefore attracted mainly D.dorsalis. Similar results were also obtained byMiller (1940) and Shah and Patel (1976). 15.mnbrosus is essentially a pest of jack-fruit (Yunusand Ho, 1970) and its presence could be attri-buted to the Artocarpus plants in the vicinity.The death of the fruit-flies within the trapscharged only with methyl eugenol and water wasmainly due to overfeeding (Steiner, 1952a). Theattractiveness of methyl eugenol to Dacus speciescould be attributed to its resemblance to the sexhormones of the fruit-flies (Fletcher et aI, 1975).Table 1 shows that there is no significantdifference between the number of fruit fliescaught in the traps with slit holes, round holesand square holes. However, slit hole traps showedsignificantly different (P<0.05) catches from thosecaught with rectangular hole traps. The containersused for making the traps were of similar shape andsize but the size of the opening varied (Fig.1). Thetotal area for the opening for the slit hole, squarehole, round hole and rectangular hole were26 sq. em, 98 sq. em, 100 sq. em, and 150 sq. em.respectively. Therefore, the efficiency of thesplit hole traps could possibly be due to thesmaller opening which prevented the accumula-tion of dew or rain water. Normally, the fruit-flieswould walk round the inner surface of the trap.The presence of excess water in the traps preve-nted the fruit-flies from approaching the attractantresulting in a fewer number of trapped species.In a further trial (Table 2) using differentinsecticides incorporated with methyl eugenolin the split hole design traps, the results showeda significant difference in the number of fruit-fliesTRAPPING OF DACUS SPP. WITH METHYL EUGENOLTABLE 1Catches of fruit Hies oyer a 5 week periodlVlcan nosType of Design Range Total caught/trap--------~Round Hole 1 - 263 1118 139.7 abSquare Hole 63 ~ 311 1277 159,6 abRectangular Hole 4 - 260 1007 125.8 bSlit Hole 24 586 2055 250.6 a* \Vithin column figures with same letters are notsignificantly different at 5% leveLattractants. Although fruit-flies aTC attracted tochemicals such as ammonia or fermented fruits(Gow, 1954) the odour of insecticide alone failedto attract a single specimen. Today, paste likeformulations of attractants (l\1ethyl eugenol +pesticides) are being used in Southern Californiafor controlling Oriental fruit-fly (Cunninghamet al. 1975).Analysis of the costing showed that trappingof fruit-flies is much cheaper than sprayingwith insecticides (Table 3). The cost couldTABLE 3Total: 940.00B: Sex attractallt + il/secticidesTotal expenditure of using 2 different methods offruit-fly control over a 5 week period(SM)30.00{ha60.00/ha8;0.00Mist blower and safety gadgetsLabour Ctr) SID/man-dayEquipment:lnsecticides and Wetting agentsEquipment:Supplies:A: Blal/het Insecticidal SprayF,/f. 1: FOllr difjl,renf types of trap des([{lls (A)Rouud (B) Square ( C) Rectan,gular alUl(D) Slit holes.Insect traps @ $1.00Supplies;T\'Iethyl eugenol @ 10c./trap130.0030.00/hatrapped \vjth methyl eugenol + insecticides andthose trapped with methyl eugenol alone. Thefact that the number of fruit-flies trapped withmethyl eugenol alone was smaller could possiblybe due to escape of flies after tasting of theInsecticides @ lOc.ftrap to.OO/haCotton wool S.OO/haLabour @ SlOfmnn-day 120.00jhaTotal: 295.00TABLE 2Catches of fruit flies with different insecticides using split hole trapsInsecticide formulation Range Total Mean no caught/trap~------~~ -----_._-:;\JalathlOn Methyl eugenol 16-21; 518 64.7 aCarbaryl 1\1. eugenol 15-U8 572 71.5 aD pterex M. eugenol 16-274 694 86.7 a\Yater M. eugenol 1-67 211 26.3 b\V,lter :J\lalathion 0 ()\Vater Carbaryl 0 0Wnter Dipterex 0 0"Tithin column figures with same letters are not significantly different at 5% level.60A. G. IBRAHIM, G. SINGH AND H. S. KINGbe further reduced by using cheaper containersand proper spacing of the traps. :Methyl eugenolis known to attract Dacus dorsalis at least 0.8 kmaway and can last for six months (Steiner, 1952a).Though methyl eugenol is only effective againstthe male fruit-flies it indirectly contributed tothe reduction of the fruit-fly population in the longterm. For instance, in Serdang ninety per centof the carambola fruits were attacked before thetrial but five weeks later, the damaged fruitswere lessened to 70(Yr).Though the reduction in fruit damage wassmall (20%) it had the advantage of preservingthe natural enemies. Blanket spray with insecti-cides would kill both target and non-targetorganisms. Furthermore, the conventionalmethod of bagging the fruits is very laboriousand time consuming. This male annihilationtechnique is a feasible method of controllingOriental fruit-fly, Dacus dorsalis Hendel in lVIalay-sian orchards and Steiner et al. (1965) have provedits effectiveness in Hawaii.CONCLUSION\Vhen methyl eugenol was placed in varIOUStrap designs, the number of fruit-flies trappedwith split holes showed no significant differencefrom those trapped with round holes and squareholes. There was a significant difference, however,between those trapped with the split hole andthose trapped with rectangular holes. Over eighty-five per cent of the Tephritids caught were maleOriental fruit-fly, Dacus dorsalis Hendel. In afurther trial using the split hole design, which\vas separately incorporated with three differentinsecticides and methyl eugenol, there was nosignificant differences in the number of trappedfruit-flies. This suggested that all the insecticidestested were equally effective. There was a reduc-tion of twenty per cent in carambola fruit damagedfive weeks after the initial trapping. Evidently,the use of methyl eugenol + insecticides wascheaper and less laborious than use of the blanketinsecticidal spray and fruit bagging.•61REFERENCESCUNNINGHAM, H.. '1'., CHAI\-mER, D. L. and FORBES, A. C.(1975): Oriental fruit-flv: Thickened Formula-tions of Methyl eugenol "in spot applications formale annihilation. J. Ecoll. ElItomol. 68: 861-863.CUNNINGHA;\I, R. '1'., NAKAGAWA, S., SUDA, D. Y. andDRAGO, T. (1978): Tephritids Fruit fly Trapping:Liquid Food baits in high and low rainfall climates.J. Econ. Entomo!. 71: 762-763.CAVALLOIlO, R. and DELHI:\, G. (1975): Soil factorsinfluencing the pupation of Ceratitis capitataWiedmann. Bull. Lab. Ellt. agra. 'FilippoSilvestri' Portici 32: 190-195 (Abstract).FLETCHER, B. S., llATEl\L.I,N, l'vI. A., HART, N. K. andLAl\lBERTON, J. A. (1975): Identification of a fruitfly attractant in an Australian Plant, Zieria smithii,as O-Methyl eugenol. J. Ecol/. EJltomol. 68: 815-816.Gow, P. L. (1954): Proteinaceous Bait for the orientalfruit fly. J. Econ. Entomol. 47: 153-160.H,\HIlIS, E. J. (1975): The Sterile Insect Techniqucfor the control of fruit-Aies, controlling the fruitflies by the sterile Insect Techn:que (Fmc. PanelVienna, 1973) IAEA Vienna p. 3-7.InHAHlM, A. G., and KUDUM, F. K. (1978): The lifecycle of fruit-Aies Dacus dorsalis Hendel on chillifruits. Pertanilw 1: 55-58.IUHi\l-U'\I, Y. and MOHAMAD, R. (1978): Pupal Distri~bution of Dacus dorsalis, in relation to host plantsand its pupation depth. Pertaniha 1: 66-69.MILLER, N. C. E. (1940): Fruit flies. JVIala:y. Agric.J.28: 112-21.SI-l:\H, A. H. and PATEL, H. C. (1976): Rolc of tulsiplant (Oehlllolt sanctuIlI, Labiatae) in control ofmango fruit fly, Dacus cOlTeclus (Tephritidae:Diptera). Currcnt Science, 45: 313-314.STEINER, L. F. (1952a): Methyl eugenol as an attrac·tant for oriental fruit-fly. J. Bcoll. Ent. 45: 241-8.STEINER, L. F., ivIrrcHEL, \V. c., H ..\H1s, E. J., KOZUMA,'1'. T. and FUJDIOTO, M. S. (1965): Orientalfruit fly eradication by male annihilation. J. Ecol/.Eniomol 58: 961-964.YUNUS, A. and 1-10, T. H. (1970): A list of food plantsof insects and other animals in \Vest l'vlalavsia(1920-1970). Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives IVlalaysia. 236-240.(Received 2 lVovembel' 1978)

Trapping of the Fruit-flies, Dacus spp. (Diptera: Tephritidae) with methyl eugenol in Orchards

http://psasir.upm.edu.my/2037/1/Trapping_of_the_Fruit-flies%2C_Dacus_spp..pdf

Trapping of the Fruit-flies, Dacus spp. (Diptera: Tephritidae) with methyl eugenol in Orchards

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Universiti Putra Malaysia Institutional Repository