Evaluation of Trap Size, Trap Entrance Size and Methyl Eugenol Amount for the Catch of Bactrocera Dorsalis Hendel

Abstract

The Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae), is a damaging pest of fruit and vegetable crops in many tropical and sub-tropical countries. In Indonesia, the fly is a serious pest of pepper that can cause total yield loss. The purposes of the current study were to determine: (1) The effect of trap size and Methyl Eugenol (ME) amount per trap on the number of B. dorsalis adults caught per trap and (2) the effect of trap entrance size and ME amount per trap on the number of B. dorsalis caught per trap and trap field longevity. For the first trial, treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design in a factorial with five replications. The trap sizes were 330, 600, and 1500 mL. Methyl eugenol amounts were 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 mL per trap. The second trial also used a randomized complete block design in factorial with five replications. The trap entrance sizes were 0.5 ⨯ 0.5, 1.0 ⨯ 0.5, 1.0 ⨯ 1.0, 1.5 ⨯ 1.5 cm and 2.0 ⨯ 2.0 cm. ME amounts used per trap were 0.5, 1.0. and 1.5 mL. The results showed that bigger traps were more effective in catching the fruit fly males. Similarly, traps with a higher amount of ME caught significantly more fruit flies. The biggest trap (1500 mL) with the most ME (1.5 mL) per trap caught significantly more fruit flies per trap than did the other treatments. The results also showed that traps with smaller entrances caught more fruit flies and had longer field longevity in comparison to the other treatments. Traps with the smallest entrance (0.5 ⨯ 0.5 cm) with the most ME per trap were more effective in catching the fruit fly and had longer field longevity than the other treatments.