Cold Storage and Hot-water Immersion as Quarantine Treatments for Canistel Infested with Caribbean Fruit Fly

Abstract

Canistel [Pouteria campechiana (HBK.) Baehni] fruit were subjected to cold storage and hot-water immersion treatments known to kill immature Caribbean fruit flies [Anastrepha suspensa (Loew)] in other fruit. Cold storage at 1 or 3C for 17 days did not cause appreciable loss in canistel quality compared with fruit stored at the normal 10C. Unripe canistels immersed in water at 46C for 90 min or at 48C for 65 min, however, developed dark blotches on the peel and a 2- to 3-mm-thick layer under the peel that did not soften. Canistels were infested with Caribbean fruit flies and subjected to 1 or 3C storage for up to 14 days. The resulting lethality data were fitted to three probability density functions (PDF) to estimate the number of days required to achieve quarantine security (99.9968% dead). The normal and Gompertz PDFs gave some reasonable estimates, while the logistic PDF gave low estimates. At 1C, 14 days would be needed to achieve quarantine security, while at 3C a minimum of 15 days would be required. These estimates must be tested to determine if they are valid after a large amount of Caribbean fruit fly immatures is subjected to the treatments.