Development of quarantine disinfestation protocol for an oriental fruit fly (Bactrocera Papayae) with hot air

• Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute, Malaysia

The oriental fruit fly Bactrocera papayae is considered the most serious pest of cultivated fruits in Southeast Asia. It is the main fruit fly pest in Australia's near neighbours Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. This project follows a review of non-chemical methods of disinfesting fruits of insect pests prior to export that was undertaken in an earlier ACIAR project. The review highlighted the effectiveness of disinfestation with circulatory hot air heating systems, but such treatment has yet to be tested against oriental fruit fly. Project scientists will develop an oriental fruit fly quarantine disinfestation protocol based on the hot air treatment, to the standards required for fruit export to Japan, USA and New Zealand. Working in Malaysia, the scientists will test the hot air method on Australian mangoes and Malaysian papaya. They will compare the disinfestation parameters established for another fruit fly species, Bactrocera tryoni, to determine the suitability of these protocols for B. papayae, and also look for side effects on fruit quality that could arise from application of the disinfestation schedules.