A comparison of vertical and horizontal trap orientations for attracting male Bactrocera spp. as fruit fly pest

Abstract

Fruit flies, such as Bactrocera spp., are significant agricultural pests focusing on crop yields in Indonesia. One way of environmentally friendly control is the application of attractants to the trap. This study aims to ascertain the trap model that efficiently captures Bactrocera spp. This survey was conducted in Malang’s Dau Subdistrict between December 2022 to February 2023. The traps used were modified Steiner traps, namely plastic bottle traps with vertical and horizontal models. Any traps were baited with 0.125 milliliters of methyl eugenol, which was dripped on cotton and suspended inside the trap. To determine the effective trap model for capturing fruit flies, the study randomly installed vertical (3 pieces) and horizontal (3 pieces) traps in each citrus orchard. The findings within the Friedman testing analysis suggested that the attraction of fruit flies to vertical and horizontal trap models had significant differences. Horizontal traps had 58% effectiveness compared to vertical traps. The types of fruit flies in the vertical model are Bactrocera dorsalis, B. carambolae, and B. umbrosa. Meanwhile, in the horizontal model, B. umbrosa was absent. Modifying this trap model increases the ability as a potential fruit fly trap and a fruit fly pest monitoring tool.