Hot-Water Quarantine Treatment for Mangoes from Mexico Infested with Mexican Fruit Fly and West Indian Fruit Fly (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Abstract

Heated water was used in the development of a quarantine treatment to kill Mexican fruit fly, Anastrepha ludens (Loew), and West Indian fruit fly, A. oblique (Macquart) infestations in mango, Mangifera indica L. Mangoes from Mexico were infested in the laboratory and immersed in water at 46.1°C for 10-70 min to estimate time-mortality relationships. Probit analysis of the data estimated the immersion time needed to reach Probit 9 security for a laboratory strain of A. ludens as 65.1 min for mixed cultivars (‘Haden,’ ‘Tommy Atkins,’ ‘Keitt,’ and ‘Kent’). For a feral strain (wild) in ‘Haden,’ the estimated immersion time was 71.4 min. The estimated immersion times for Probit 9 security for A. obliqua in ‘Kent’ were 66.8 min for a laboratory strain and 83.6 min for a wild strain. A large-scale test resulted in no survivors based on number of normal pupae when 187,114 A. ludens (laboratory) in 4,864 ‘Keitt’ and ‘Oro’; 226,054 A. ludens (wild) in 5,530 ‘Haden’ and ‘Tommy Atkins’; 116,869 A. obliqua (wild) in 7,703 ‘Kent’; and 101,049 A. obliqua (laboratory) in 8,775 ‘Keitt,’ ‘Haden,’ and ‘Tommy Atkins’ were immersed in water at 46,1°C for 90 min. The market quality of mangoes immersed in water at 46.1°C depended on cultivar, size and shape, maturity, and handling procedures. ‘Oro’ mangoes immersed in water for 75 min were not damaged. The percentage of acceptable ‘Oro’ immersed for 90, 105, and 120 min was reduced to 80, 85, and 15%, respectively. ‘Kent,’ ‘Tommy Atkins,’ and ‘Keitt’ mangoes immersed in water at 46.1°C for 90 min and refrigerated at 11.1°C for 7, 11, and 14 d were not damaged. ‘Haden’ mangoes immersed in water at 46.1°C for 90 min, not refrigerated, and held at 23.9 ± 1°C were acceptable for 12 d.