Influence of methyl eugenol soaked wood blocks on the capturing efficiency of mango fruit flies, Bactrocera spp.
Shankar M., Rao S. R. K., Umamaheswari T., Reddy K. D.
Author Affiliation: Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, Angrau, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, India.
Journal of Plant Protection and Environment 8 : 106-107
Abstract : Field experiments were conducted in Andhra Pradesh, India, during the 2009 summer season, to study cheap and widely available wood materials used as blocks in traps to determine the suitable and most effective methyl eugenol soaked block on the capturing efficiency of fruit flies (Bactrocera spp.). Wood blocks of neem, tamarind, teak, mango, ber (Ziziphus mauritiana), drumstick and plywood were soaked in a mixture of methyl eugenol and malathion (8:1) for 24 h. The traps were hung at a height of 2 m above the ground level. The placement of traps was changed at fortnight intervals to avoid position effect. Observations on the number of adult flies attracted to traps were recorded at weekly intervals. Results showed that Among the 7 wood blocks, higher number of adult fruit flies were attracted to the plywood block (16.00 flies/trap/week), followed by tamarind block (11.2 flies/trap/week), drumstick block (9.04 flies/trap/week), neem block (8.91 flies/trap/week) and were on par with each other in capturing fruit flies. The teak wood block had attracted approximately 7.25 flies/trap/week, while the mango and ber wood blocks attracted only 6.58 and 6.37 flies/trap/week, respectively, and were on par wlth each other.