Species Composition of Fruit Flies (Tephritidae: Diptera) and Extent of Infestations on Mango (Mangifera indica L.) in Western Ethiopia

Abstract

The family Tephritidae is comprised of different genera and species of fruit flies, with a varied composition causing yield losses in different parts of the world. This study was conducted with the objective of determine the species composition of fruit flies and extent of infestation on mangoes by fruit fly in western Ethiopia. Fruit flies were collected using two methods; parapheromones and rearing of the adult flies from infested mango fruits in western Ethiopia at different sites of the mango farm. A total of 1348 with nine fruit fly species were trapped by the paraphermones, namely Bactrocera invadens, Bactrocera cucurbitae, Dacus telfaireae, Dacus masaicus, Ceratitis fasciventris, Ceratitis (Ceratalaspis) sp, Ceratitis cosyra, Ceratitis fasciventris, and Dacus bivittatus. The relative abundance of flies /trap/day ranged from 0.1-24.91flies per trap per day However, only three fruit fly species, Bactrocera invadens, Ceratitis fasciventris and Ceratitis cosyra, were reared from infested mango fruits in descending order of dominance, respectively. There were variations among the area in terms of mango fruit infestation levels 16.667%-55.556% in western Ethiopia in 2010. Farmers have not recognized the fruit flies as a problem and did not associate the fruit rotting to this pest. As a result they do not practice any management practice against fruit flies. It is recommended that the farmers should get training so that they recognize and understand fruit flies, and introduce to basic management of fruit flies and integration of   sanitation and prompt harvesting, use of baits in order to produce and supply quality fruits for both local and export markets. The need for further investigation on species composition of fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) attacking mangoes and other fruits, population studies of fruit fly species, evaluations of different monitoring and management techniques, and detailed studies yield loss are recommended.

Keywords: fruit fly species, bait, Tephritidae, parapheromones