Flight activity of Bactrocera oleae (Rossi, 1790) (Diptera: Tephritidae) infesting two Algerian olive varieties in north-west Algeria

Abstract

Bactrocera oleae (Rossi, 1790) (Diptera: Tephritidae) is the most dangerous insect pest of the olive tree in the Mediterranean region. This study was conducted in the Mascara region (North-West Algeria) during 2019-2020 season, in order to monitoring the flight activity of B. oleae by using Mc Phail type traps and evaluating the infestation rate on two olive varieties (Sigoise and Chemlal) by fruits sampling. The data obtained indicated that the flight activity of B. oleae developed five peaks of the abundance. The General Linear Model (GLM) showed that infestation rate and fruit caliber varied considerably among varieties and across the sampling date, which gradually increased with time. ‘Sigoise’ having the highest caliber and was more infested than ‘Chemlal’. The northern cardinal orientation of the tree was the least attacked by this pest. The GLM function showed that there was relationship between the infestation rate and fruit size.