ECONEX CERATITIS CAPITATA 90 DAYS

Sexual pheromone diffuser of the female of Ceratitis capitata to attract males, with a duration of 90 days in normal field conditions.

The diffuser consists of a cylinder of compacted polyester fibers impregnated with the attractant. It is packaged individually in an aluminium sachet with labelled instructions. Once taken out of the sachet, the diffuser does not need any activation operation. Simply place it directly in the trap.

Ceratitis capitata is a dipteran that attacks all kinds of fruit. The larvae live inside the fruit and prefer those with a sweet, fleshy pulp such as peaches. They can also damage figs, apricots, oranges, mandarins, persimmons, rapes, pears, pomegranates, mangoes, custard apples, papayas, loquats, plums and quinces.

There can be several generations per year depending on the climate in the area. They usually spend the cold period in the soil in the form of pupae while in warmer areas there can be up to 7 or 8 generations.

BIOLOGY

The first generation adult females appear in winter attacking oranges and clementines on the sunniest branches. Ripe fruit is the most susceptible to attack. All citrus fruits can be attacked but the thickness and texture of the peel and the density of the essential oil glands play a fundamental role in their immunity to them, as in the case of lemons.

The flies walk over the fruit looking for an appropriate place. Colour and smell play an important role in the choice of place for egg laying (preferring yellow and orange).

They lay their eggs in groups of 5 or 10. The total number of eggs per female can be between 300 and 400.  The larvae feed on the pulp moving towards the inside of the fruit. Rotten fruit falls to the ground and the larvae exit the fruit pupating under ground at a depth of 5-10 cm. A second generation appears in spring on apricots. At the beginning of summer there is a third generation on peaches. In August and September there is a fourth and fifth generation on peaches, pears, figs, persimmons and grapes. They also begin to eat unripe oranges and mandarins

Later there is a sixth generation on late fruit such as oranges and mandarins, and if the temperature is mild enough there may be yet another generation.

Activity decreases in winter but when the temperature rises above 14^o C the flies become active again.

Source: Polytechnical University of Valencia, Spain.

DETECTION AND MONITORING

Use 1 or 2 traps per hectare placed on the south-facing side of the trees at a height of 1.5 to 2 m to detect and monitor the Mediterranean fruit fly population.

Set the traps approximately one to three months before harvesting each crop.

MASS TRAPPING

Although males and females of this species are trapped, it is mostly males. This is in order to reduce mating so that females that have not mated will have non-viable eggs. This reduces the pest population.

The number of traps per surface area should be increased for this purpose depending on where the plots are and whether they are uniform in size. One trap can control a surface area of between 500 and 1.000 m². This entails a trap density of 10 to 20 per hectare placed on the south-facing side of trees at a height of 1.5 to 2 m.

At the edges of the plots will be necessary to place a barrier of traps, separated from each other from 10 to 15 meters.

NECESSARY MATERIAL

We can use an EOSTRAP^® INVAGINATED, ECONEX MOSQUERO, ECONEX WHITE TRIANGULAR without sheets, ECONEX YELLOW TRIANGULAR without sheets or ECONEX YELLOW CHROMATIC 40 X 25 CM trap, and a pheromone diffuser ECONEX CERATITIS CAPITATA 90 DAYS.

The EOSTRAP^® INVAGINATED and ECONEX MOSQUERO traps are more suitable than the ECONEX TRIANGULAR trap for mass trapping. In the EOSTRAP^® INVAGINATED and the ECONEX MOSQUERO traps it is recommended to use an SNAILNEX^® or to place some substance capable of killing or retaining the insects captured inside, such as olive oil.

The trap ECONEX WHITE TRIANGULAR without sheets is activated by placing an ECONEX SHEET FOR TRIANGULAR (Code: TA248) at the base of it. The sheet is impregnated with a pressure sensitive adhesive, solvent free, in which insects are trapped.  The trap ECONEX DISPOSABLE WHITE TRIANGULAR is coated on its inner face with a layer of contact adhesive, solvent free, for the retention of the insects.

Both traps stand out above all for their simplicity of use, and will be operative until pheromone depletion or saturation of the sheet or adhesive surface. The pheromone diffuser is placed inside the trap on the sheet or adhesive surface.

PERIOD OF USE

To achieve good control of the Ceratitis capitata, it is advisable to combine the two methods: detection and monitoring and mass trapping.

In spring you can place 1 to 2 traps per hectare to detect the pest and observe the level of their populations.

Through established thresholds of tolerance in each area, the control measures are later defined, in this case mass trapping. The threshold of tolerance for Ceratitis capitata is very low and varies according to the area and the type of traps used. Generally it is between 0.5 and 3 captures per day per trap.

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE NUMBER OF TRAPS REQUIRED

Pest population, adjoining crops, level of control required, etc.

An important factor is crop size. In small and irregular sized crops a greater number of traps will be needed. Another important factor is the distance between crops with the same pest. In such cases the crop boundaries should be reinforced, so a trap density of about 20 traps per hectare may be needed.  More traps may be needed in the case of mass trappings

STORAGE OF THE DIFFUSERS

The diffusers must be kept in their original container and in a refrigerator at 4^oC, or in the freezer at -18^oC, in which case they will remain valid for 2 and 4 years respectively.

More information:

 www.ceratitiscapitata.eu

ECONEX CERATITIS CAPITATA 90 DAYS LEAFLET