Dynamics of fruit fly and borer infestations in relation to their biological control agents and host jackfruit phenology

Issue Date

10-2008

Abstract

The project sought to determine basic information gaps toward a sound a sustainable jackfruit pest management system in Eastern Visayas. The 3-year population fluctuations of jackfruit fruit fly significantly varied, with general population peaks observed in May to September, the jackfruit major fruiting season. Six insect parasitoids, three entomopathogens, and two predators were discovered as novel biological control agents of jackfruit fruit fly. A promising braconid wasps, Apanteles sp. was found to preferably attack the second and third instar larvae of the jackfruit crambid fruit borer with an average of 33.5 parasitoids emerging before death of the host borer. The lethal concentration (LC50) of Metarhizium anisopliae SPW isolate and Beauveria bassiana Coleop. Co. # 69 isolate to the fruit fly adults were 2.01 x 105 /ml and 4.54 x 106 spores/ml, respectively. The former took shorter lethal time (LT50) of 4.97 days than 8.78 days for the latter. While still found infective to fruit fly pupae four weeks after its application in the soil, M. anisopliae could also be transmitted by artificially M. anisopliae treated male adults to healthy female adults, whose transmission mechanism is believed to be due to mating and direct contact between infected and healthy individuals based on the results of caged experiments. Moreover, the fungus could infect all fruit fly pupae in the soil and still capable of post-emergence infection. It is possible to treat with M. anisopliae the ground cover of a jackfruit plantation during fruiting season to infect the pupating larvae dropping to the soil surface, and/or possibly develop a M. anosopliae-laden attractant to contaminate the wild population in the field. A cost-efficient mass production substrate (50% palay and 50% rice bran) for M. anisopliae was developed. Development and timing of application of sound pest management interventions and early warning advocacies for jackfruit fruit flies and borers could now be enhanced.

Source or Periodical Title

Philippine Entomologist

ISSN

0048-3753

Volume

22

Issue

2

Page

203-204

Document Type

Article

Frequency

semi-annually

Language

English

En – AGROVOC descriptors

METARHIZIUM ANISOPLIAE; APANTELES; ARTOCARPUS HETEROPHYLLUS; INFESTATION; BIOLOGICAL CONTROL AGENTS; PEST MANAGEMENT

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS