Hot-Air Quarantine Treatment for Mango Infested with Caribbean Fruit Fly (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Abstract

A single-stage forced-air quarantine treatment at 48 ± 0.3°C was developed to disinfest Florida-grown ‘Tommy Atkins’ and ‘Keitt’ mangoes, Mangifero indica L., of Caribbean fruit fly, Anastrepho suspense (Loew), eggs and larvae. Treating infested fruits for 30-150 min with 48 ± 0.3°C forced air at a 0.75 m3/s mean air flow rate reduced the number of surviving pupae that developed from treated eggs and larvae. Probit analysis of the data estimated that a mean treatment time of 136.7min was needed to reach 99.9968% (probit 9) mortality when the mean ± SEM temperature next to the seed surface was 44.5 ±a. soc. A large-scale confirmatory test resulted in no survivors (based on puparia of normal appearance) when an estimated 106,053 A. suspenso larvae in 7,000 infested mangoes were heated with 48 ± 0.3°C forced air at an average 0.75 m3/s air flow rate for 160 or 220 min and the fruit pulp temperatures next to the seeds were 46.1 ± 0.4 or 46.5 ± 0.2°C, respectively.