Disinfestation of Mangoes with Gamma Irradiation Against Two Australian Fruit Flies (Diptera: Tephritidae)

‘Kensington’ mangoes infested with 24-h-old eggs or 5-d-old larvae of Baetroeera Tryoni (Froggatt) and B. jarvisi (Tryon), were successfully disinfested with gamma radiation at a dose of 74-101 Gy. In trials in which >100,000 individuals of these stages of each species were treated, no adults emerged. Although this mortality rate assured quarantine security to Probit 9 (99.9968% mortality) at the 95% confidence level, continuation of development of some treated eggs and 5-d-old larvae to the pupal stage could cause doubts about the effectiveness of a treatment at a subsequent inspection. Preharvest pest management should be used to eliminate the incidence of infested treated fruit during routine quarantine inspections after treatment.