Irradiation of Mangoes as a Postharvest Quarantine Treatment for Fruit Flies (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Abstract

Mangoes infested with third instar larvae were irradiated using Co-60 gamma rays and a dose interval of 2–250 Gy to assess the irradiation dose required to prevent adult emergence of the Mexican fruit fly (Anastrepha ludens), the West Indies fruit fly (A. obliqua), the sapote fruit fly (A. serpentina), and the Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata). Doses of 76.9, 87.3, 91.4 and 112.7 Gy, were estimated to inhibit 99.9968% (probit 9) of adult emergence for A. obliqua, A. serpentina, A. ludens, and C. capitata, respectively. Using mangoes infested with a total of 100,000 larvae of each species, the results obtained in the laboratory were confirmed using a dose of 100 Gy for the Anastrepha species and 150 Gy for C. capitata. No adult emergence was observed for any of the four species compared with ≈80% emergence in the controls. A dose of 150 Gy is recommended as a generic quarantine treatment against potential infestation of these species in exported mangoes. A minor decrease in the ascorbic acid content was the only adverse effects observed in irradiated mangoes.