Eco-friendly management of fruit flies in peach with methyl eugenol based traps in Punjab

Management of fruit flics (Bactrocera spp.) by using methyl eugenol based traps was attempted in peach orchards with 16 traps/acre. Fruit fly infested fruits were 6.86 per cent in orchards with traps as compared to 43.5 per cent in control orchards. Maximum fruit flies were trapped in Patiala (6480 flies) followed by 2673 flies in Pathankot. A total of 23436 male fruit flies were trapped at 8 different locations in 7 districts. In orchards where fruit fly traps were fixed, the maximum per cent infested fruits were observed in Fazilka (16%) followed by Ludhiana (8.3%) as compared to 70 and 61 per cent in untreated orchards, respectively. Maximum number of marketable fruits in these orchards was recorded in Pathankot (1123 fruits/tree) followed by Patiala (1115 fruits/tree) in the treated orchards as compared to 921 and 803 in untreated orchards, respectively. Thus, successful management of fruit flies in peach can be achieved by fixing ‘PAU Fruit Fly Traps’ @ 16 traps/acre in the first week of May.