Pest Name: Fruit Fly
Life Cycle of the Pest:
The female fruit fly lays her eggs beneath the skin of various fruits and vegetables, usually when they are ripe or nearly ripe. Once the eggs hatch, the larvae begin feeding on plant tissues. The fruit fly develops through four stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult, with varying time spans depending on the species. The life cycle generally lasts from one to two months, and the female can lay hundreds or even thousands of eggs during her lifetime.
Symptoms of Infestation:
- Presence of puncture marks on the fruit caused by the female fruit fly laying eggs inside.
- Emergence of larvae from the fruit after the eggs hatch.
- The fruit becomes hollow inside as larvae feed on its pulp.
- Infested fruits fall off the tree, with worms emerging from them.
- Larvae feed directly on plant tissues, making the fruit soft, discolored, and inedible.
- Fruit flies feed on marketable ripe fruits as well as those still attached to the plant. This distinguishes them from non-insect organisms that feed only on decayed tissues. Fruit flies cause significant economic damage to crops.
Appearance Times on Different Crops:
- Infestation of late varieties of peaches, apricots, and plums occurs from May to July.
- Infestation of pears occurs from July to September.
- Infestation of mangoes occurs from May to October.
- Infestation of figs and guavas occurs from July to November.
- Infestation of citrus fruits during winter occurs from September to November.
Control Methods:
First: Agricultural Control
- Collect infested fruits and burn them outside the orchard, or use them for organic compost production.
- Remove weeds in the field.
- Deep plowing of the land after harvest to eliminate pupae in the soil.
- Place pheromone traps and bait traps specific to fruit flies.
Second: Biological Control
- Viruses, bacteria, and fungi can control the pest.
- Metarhizium anisopliae is a fungus that infects and kills adult fruit flies by penetrating their cells and causing cell death.
- Pyrethrin is a natural compound extracted from flowering plants. It affects the insect’s nervous system, ultimately killing or repelling them.
Third: Chemical Control
Use compounds containing the following active ingredients: Lambda-cyhalothrin and Dimethoate.
Examples of available products: