APPLIED ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH, cilt.18, sa.1, ss.185-199, 2020 (SCI-Expanded)
The management of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Turkey is mainly through chemical control. In this study, the effectiveness of the integrated pest management (IPM), mass trapping and chemical control were compared in an orange orchard in Tarsus (Mersin) during 2015 and 2016. The IPM program was based on the use of the synthetic food attractant lure Biolure, paired with sanitation of infected fruits and chemical control if necessary. In mass trapping plots the female targeted attractant lure Biolure and the male targeted sex attractant lure Trimedlure were used. Chemical control was based on bait treatments with Spinosad. The efficiency of the applications was evaluated according to the rate of infected fruits during harvest. The highest number of flies was detected in the Control plot as 404 flies/trap/week in 2015 and in Chemical Control plot as 429 flies/trap/week in 2016. No statistical difference was found between the applications regarding the number of male flies weekly captured and number of infected fruits. However, it was determined that the ratio of infected fruits in the IPM plot was lower than that of other plots (1.57% in 2015 and 0.89% in 2016) at harvest, followed by Biolure, Trimedlure and Spinosad, respectively. It was concluded that IPM, which included the application of several methods, was the most effective control practice for C. capitata.