Fruit flies in Pakistan: damage and control in farmers' fields.
Riaz Mahmood, Baloch K. N., Makhdum A. H., Chaudhary Z. M., Ghulam Mustafa, Stonehouse J.
Author Affiliation: CABI Regional Bioscience Centre, PO Box 8, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
: 83-85
Abstract : Bait Application Technique (BAT) sprays for the protection of guava, jujube and melon, and soaked-block MAT (Male Annihilation Technique) for the protection of mango against attack by fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) were compared with farmer practices of no control or cover sprays in farmers' fields in four areas of Pakistan in 1999. A farmer-managed trial of BAT on melons on fifteen farms obtained average yield increases of 36% and considerable farmer satisfaction. A series of informal trials found farmers very pleased with the new technologies. Extrapolation of the reductions in infestation obtained in the formal trial (75% for guava by BAT, 93% for jujube by BAT, 100% for mango by MAT and 86% for melon by BAT) would result in estimated annual farm-level gross savings for Pakistan, for the cultivation of mango, guava and melon of US$115 million.