Evaluation of an “Attract and Kill” System to Combat Ceratitis capitata on Peach Trees in Tunisia

Sarra, Bouagga... [et.all];

Attract and kill (AK) technology was evaluated against the Mediterranean fruit fly (Med-fly), Ceratitis capitata W..
Treatment was carried out in two peach orchards of four hectares each; first one located in Borj-Touil and the second in El-Kssibi Mornag, Northern Tunisia during the 2012 field season. AK is a specialized system based on hydrolyzed proteins and
alpha-cypermethrin. During this study, 400 AK bait stations were placed in every hectare, four weeks before fruits color changes.
The tested AK system was found effective in reducing the number of C. capitata population to 70% comparing to the untreated
orchards. Fruit damages assessment showed significant differences between treatments in respect of decreasing infestation onto fruits. Study results indicated that AK baited treatments were able to reduce dropped and soften fruits infestation seven times than that of control plots. Fruit damages were restricted to 4%-5% in treated areas with AK system in compare to 31%-35% recorded in control plots. This novel AK system showed good performance to combat Med-fly and can successfully used to combat various fruit fly species when applied for an area wide application program.