[01] Muhammad Sarwar, Nuclear Institute for Agriculture & Biology, Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan.

This article provides and recommends cultural practices to control common fruit flies (Tephritidae: Diptera) insect pests of fruit trees and vegetables in the home and commercial gardens or farms, and territories. Fruit flies of Family Tephritidae are one of the most serious insect pests of horticultural produces throughout the tropics and subtropics world. Feeding by fruit fly larvae may cause complete destruction of fruits, rather than cosmetic damage as is caused by many other insect pests. Infested fruits quickly become rotten and inedible or may drop to the ground prematurely, thus causing considerable losses in production. The damages on crops consist of oviposition stings on the fruit surface, the fruit drops early, also causing destruction of the inside of the fruits and these results in an unmarketable crop. Poorly managed vegetations are a source of infection and infestation for nearby home and commercial orchards. The farmers spray their fields very frequently during a growing period until approximately one week before harvest and the spraying is carried out in a big degree during the cool hours of the day. Therefore, implementation of control measures that do not imply an added burden to the environment and the farmers is urgent. Cultural control includes practices that may be regarded as part of the normal production system and do not involve the application of insecticides. Initially, the use of crops hygiene, sanitation, removal of fallen fruits or old crops, collection and destruction of infested fruits and buried deep in soil can achieve good success in reducing population of fruit flies. Other cultural management strategies to complement crop hygiene or sanitation include, production during periods of relatively low fruit fly activity, growing of less susceptible varieties, early harvesting of fruits and fruit bagging practices that can be effectively employed to manage fruit fly infestations in fruit and vegetable crops. Be aware that local laws and legislations in the interior and exterior fruit-growing regions require that certain insect pests on fruit trees in gardens or farms be controlled instantly.

Fruit Fly, Fruit, Vegetable, Cultural Control, Diptera, Tephritidae

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