Controlled atmosphere (CA) as a post-harvest treatment against fruit flies in mangoes.
Grové T., Steyn W. P., Beer M. S. de
Author Affiliation: Institute for Tropical and Subtropical Crops, Private Bag X11208, Nelspruit 1200, South Africa.
: 147-149
Abstract : Three fruit fly species, namely the Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata), the Natal fruit fly (C. rosa) and the Marula fruit fly (C. cosyra), are known to attack mango fruit in South Africa. A postharvest disinfestation treatment is necessary before more foreign markets can be exploited. In this study, preliminary research was done to control fruit flies in mangoes with controlled atmosphere (CA). The following treatments were evaluated: (1) regular atmosphere at room temperature (2) O2=1.5%, CO2=5%, balanced N2 for 1 day at room temperature (3) O2=1.5%, CO2=5%, balanced N2 for 3 days at room temperature (4) O2=1.5%, CO2=5%, balanced N2 for 4 days at room temperature (5) O2=1%, CO2=50%, balanced N2 for 160 minutes between 35 and 48°C. The atmospheres were tested against different developmental stages of C. rosa and C. cosyra. None of the above tested atmospheres were effective against all the stages of the fruit flies.