Comparison of Methyl Bromide and Ethyl Formate for Fumigation of Snail and Fly Pests of Imported Orchids

Abstract

Invasive snails and flies are major pests of imported orchids, controlled by methyl bromide (MB) fumigation in Korea. We compared the efficacy and phytotoxicity of ethyl formate (EF) and MB on four species of imported orchids using juvenile stages of Achatina fulica and third and fourth instars of Lycoriella mali. EF was as effective as MB. The LCt99 values of EF were 68.1 and 73.1 g h/m3 at 15 °C; and those of MB were 95.9 and 78.4 g h/m3 at 15 °C for A. fulica and L. mali, respectively. In the scale-up trials, EF treatment at 35 g/m3 for 4 h at 15 °C resulted in complete control of both pests. MB treatment based on the current treatment guidelines for imported orchids (48 g/m3, 2 h, at >15 °C) resulted in complete control of L. mali but not of A. fulica. Chlorophyll content and hue values of treated orchids were not affected by EF treatment but significantly changed by MB (p-value < 0.05). All four treated species of orchids died within 30 d of MB treatment, while only one species died from EF treatment. Our results suggest that EF is a potential alternative to MB in phytosanitary treatment of imported orchids.

Ethyl Formate Fumigation for Controlling Two Major Aphid Pests, Aphis spiraecola and Aphis gossypii, on Passion Fruit, from Cultivation to Post-Harvest Storage

“…The potential harm to plants from EF has been previously assessed across a range of plants grown in nurseries [ 20 , 25 ], as well as in fruits [ 21 , 26 , 37 , 38 ] and vegetables [ 39 ]. These studies indicated that the extent of the harmful effect depended on factors such as the treatment amount used and the plant species and variety.…”

“…When applied to fruits such as oranges, bananas, grapes, and persimmons, EF demonstrated no negative impact on overall fruit quality [ 21 , 26 , 37 , 38 ]. In nursery plants, the observed levels of EF-induced plant damage varied, ranging from absence of harm (for instance, in Ficus benghalensis Banyan and Cymbidium goeringii Reichenbach) to significant harm (as observed in Anthurium andraeanum Linden and Agave attenuata Salm-Dyck) [ 20 , 25 ]. In this study, there were no significant changes in fruit firmness, sugar content, color change, and weight loss 1 week after the EF treatment at 5 or 10 g/m 3 at 5 ± 1 °C ( Figure 2 ).…”

“…A total of 653 adults and 630 nymphs of A. spiraecola were utilized, including controls. Sorption was calculated as the remaining ratio of concentration ( C / C 0 ), with C indicating the EF concentration measured at a specific time interval and C 0 representing the EF concentration at 0.1 h [ 20 ].…”

“…In particular, EF has been reported as an effective pesticide for pests in a greenhouse that have developed resistance to other pesticides [ 18 , 19 ]. Several studies have explored the use of EF as a disinfectant on a range of commodities such as fruits, vegetables, nursery plants, and non-food commodities in the condition of post-harvest storage as quarantine purposes, and they have demonstrated its effectiveness [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ]. In this study, we assessed the effectiveness of EF as a disinfectant for A. spiraecola and A. gossypii , two representative aphid species on tropical fruits, on passion fruit.…”

Synergism of a mixture of phosphine and carbon dioxide in fumigation against bean weevils

“…Cho et al (2020) show that fumigation with ethyl formate mixtures with a concentration of 16 mg/L and PH 3 0.1 mg/L for 4 hours, can ensure the complete death of imago and nymphs of these pests. However, Kwon et al (2023) focus on the fact that the phytotoxic effect of the examined gas mixtures on live plants was considerably lower, in contrast to brommethyl.…”