Influence of Methyl Eugenol Diluted with Oleic Acid as Lure for the Peach Fruit Fly (PFF) Males, Bactrocera zonata (Saunders) under Filed Conditions

Abstract

The efficiency of methyl eugenol diluted with oleic acid was evaluated against the peach fruit fly, Bactrocera zonata(Saunders) in guava and mandarin orchards. Four concentrations (98, 75, 50 and 25 %) weretested by using yellow Jackson trap. The obtained results indicated that B. zonata males showed different degrees of attractancy for the different tested concentrations in both orchards.In guava orchards, methyl eugenol attracted the highest numbers of B. zonata males at a concentration of 75% followed by 98, 50 and 25% with a general mean of 74.8, 66.37, 51.49 and 29.52 individuals/trap / week, respectively. Also, in mandarin the concentration of75% exhibited the highest attractiveness (19.05) for PFF males, while the concentration of 50% ranked the second group and recorded the moderate level of attractiveness (14.47) followed by 25% (11.78) and 98% (10.68individuals/trap / week) .The regression of the attractiveness of each tested concentration to PFF males over 70 days in guava and mandarin orchards revealed that the potentiality of the tested varied according to the concentration used. However, the efficiency of methyl eugenol at 75% concentration slightly decreased by the time in comparison with other tested concentrations in both orchards.