Comparative efficacy of mass trapping and attract-and-kill technique in the control of medfly (Ceratitis capitata, Wiedemann) in Central Moroccan peach orchards

Abstract

To develop eco-friendly alternative control strategies for medfly, mass trapping trials were conducted in the central Morocco during the crop season 2016. Two control methods, mass trapping and the attract-and-kill technique were compared for the control of medfly on two peach varieties (?Rome Star? and ?Ryan Sun?) in Sefou district. For mass trapping, 62 traps/1.23 ha of MagnetTMMed type baited with ammonium acetate, trimethylamine, putrescine and 0.01 g of deltamethrin were installed on both varieties. In plots testing the attract-and-kill technique, treatments with malathion in mixture with protein hydrolyzate were applied to straw tufts attached to branches of the same varieties whenever 1 fly was caught on a Trimedlure trap installed at the center of each plot. The results showed that the number of flies captured by mass trapping reached 508 and 489 adults on ?Rome Star? and ?Ryan Sun?, respectively. The average number varied from 1 to 3 adults/trap/day, depending on the date of capture and the variety, and females accounted for 62-100% of total caught flies. In plots protected by the attract-and-kill technique, and taking into account the threshold adopted by the farm, 11 and 15 treatments were carried out respectively on the ?Ryan Sun? and ?Rome Star? varieties. Overall, infestation rates in plots did not exceed 0.3% before or at harvest with mass trapping versus 0.9% with the attract-and-kill technique. On fruit dropped on the ground, the infestation rate did not exceed 4% in mass trapping, compared to 11.5% in the chemically treated plots. Mass trapping was therefore proved to be an effective and eco-friendly tool for managing medfly on peach fruit.

Insight on Fruit Fly IPM Technology Uptake and Barriers to Scaling in Africa

“…This initiative should significantly boost the number of beneficiaries from these regions. It should also be noted that other management methods, such as the female mass trapping that relies on putrescine, trimethylamine and ammonium acetate (PTA), were not included in the list of technologies in the survey, and this control method is commonly used in Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco [6,8,76,77]. This is a significant caveat to the reported beneficiary numbers from Northern Africa.…”

Advancements in management of major fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) in North Africa and future challenges: A review

“…It has various possibilities for application: lure‐and‐kill, lure‐and‐infect and lure‐and sterilize (Navarro‐Llopis et al., 2018). It was tested against Medfly in Tunisia and Morocco (Asfers et al., 2018; Elaini & Mazih, 2018; Tlemsani & Boulahia‐Kheder, 2017). Several mass trapping and attract and kill devices are registered in these countries (Table 1).…”

“…In Morocco switching to more environmentally friendly methods is still a slow process. Indeed, several alternative methods (Asfers et al, 2017(Asfers et al, , 2018Mazih, 2015), including the use of biopesticides, have been investigated (Elaini & Mazih, 2018). Recently spinosad was applied during harvesting because of its low persistence (Elaini & Mazih, 2018).…”

“…McPhail baited with Femilure-CC, plastic pots filled with ammonium salts and Magnet TM -Med) assessed from 2012 to 2015 in peach and nectarine orchards, were able to reduce damage with <1% of punctured fruits (Asfers et al, 2018). The technologies compared were combined with complementary measures such as spot sprays of the straw plugs by malathion added to hydrolysate proteins when the threshold of 1 male/trap/day or 1% of punctured fruits was reached.…”

“…From this evidence, we argue that for North Africa currently several mass trapping and attract and kill devices such as Magnet TM-Med, M3 ® , Ceranock ® , AAL&K ® bait stations are effective to control Medfly in citrus or early-ripening peach orchards, especially if included in an IPM programme. By reducing or avoiding chemical treatments, these technologies have the advantage to produce fewer negative effect on beneficial insects (Asfers et al, 2018;Ben Yazid, Chafik, Bousamid, et al, 2020;Elaini & Mazih, 2018;Hafsi et al, 2016Hafsi et al, , 2019Mazih, 2015).…”