ASSESSING EFFICACY OF LOCAL FOOD BAITS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF FRUIT FLIES IN FRUIT ORCHARDS IN MAPUTO, MOZAMBIQUE

D. Apio^1,2, D. Cugala^1,2, L. J. Canhanga^1,2

¹Faculty of Agronomy and Forest Engineering, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique

²CE-AFSN: Centre of Excellence in Agri-Food Systems and Nutrition, University Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique

Corresponding author; deborahapio50@gmail.com

Abstract

Introduction: Fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) are the most important and devastating pests of fruits and vegetables. It is estimated that in Africa, around 80% of production losses occur due to the occurrence of fruit flies. Conventional control measures rely on synthetic insecticides, which are often expensive and harmful for human health and environment. For their management, monitoring is an important aspect and the use of synthetic and food attractants (normally fruit juices and hydrolyzed proteins) is recommended.  Objective: The study aimed to determine the attractiveness of food baits for fruit flies for their management in Umbeluzi, Boane district, Maputo province.  Methodology: A randomized block design was used with four treatments (palm sap, molasses, torula yeast and water) and four replications. At each block, four trees were selected at random, the four treatments were placed in Tephri traps, labelled according to the attractant and hanged on the trees. The traps were inspected on a weekly interval, the fruit flies captured were collected and taken to the Entomology laboratory at the Faculty of Agronomy and Forest Engineering in Maputo and then counted, and identified to the species level. Results: Torula performed best as the positive control (1535), Palm sap attracted more fruit flies (780) than molasses (294), and water as a negative control was the least attractant with only 3 fruit flies. Three genera of fruit flies were attracted to the various food baits with Bactrocera being the most common (2,450), followed by Dacus (126) and lastly Ceratitis (36) fruit flies. Conclusion: Locally available food baits, particularly palm sap, offer an effective and sustainable alternative to commercial attractants for managing fruit flies in fruit production. These results support the integration of local resources into fruit fly management programs for smallholder farmers.

Keywords: monitoring, fruit flies, palm sap, molasses, and torula.