Phytoparasitica (2003) 31 (3) - Controlling the Mediterranean ...

Y. Gazit, S. Lurie and Y. Rössler (2003)
Controlling the Mediterranean fruit fly and preserving citrus fruit quality by postharvest heat treatments
Phytoparasitica 31 (3)
Abstracts 20th Conference of the Entomological Society of Israel, Feb. 11-12, 2003
Abstract: The Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata is a quarantine pest in important markets, where the importation of freshly picked fruits is banned unless they have been treated to eliminate the pest. The treatment must be effective for disinfestation, yet have no adverse effect on fruit quality. The main treatment in use currently is a cold quarantine, which necessitates holding the fruit at a low temperature (1 to 2° C) for 2 to 3 weeks. In contrast, a heat treatment is short and may be effective within hours. In order to preserve fruit quality, we studied the thermal-death kinetics of the insect in order to keep the heating period to the necessary minimum. We therefore compared the thermal death kinetics of four developmental stages of C. capitata, 1- and 2-day-old eggs, and first and third instar larvae. The comparison was done in vitro, at various temperatures, using water as the heat conductor medium. At 45° C the exposures required to generate probit-9 values of mortality were 55, 120 and 20 min, and at 49° C they were 3, 4 and 2 min, for the eggs (both ages), first and third instar larvae, respectively. The first instar larva was the most heat-resistant stage; hence the insect kinetics inside fruit was studied with this stage. However, the first and third instar larvae had similar responses within infested fruit. Therefore, the apparent sensitivity of the mature larvae in vitro was most likely due to insufficient breathing (suffocation) in the water and not to the heat. Thermal treatment at high humidity of inoculated 'Sweetie' fruit was carried out in the Controlled Atmosphere Temperature Treatment System (CATTS). Lethal exposure (100% mortality) was generated after heating the core of the fruit to 43° and 44° C for 120 and 60 min, respectively. Incorporation of low oxygen atmosphere (mostly N₂) enabled reducing the lethal exposure to 42° C for 30 min. This may pave the way to find a sound thermal treatment that will be fast and effective, yet without any adverse effect on fruit quality.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Database assignments for author(s): Yoav Gazit, Yoram Rössler

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
control - general
quarantine treatments/regulations/aspects

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Ceratitis capitata	Citrus (genus)