ISHS Acta Horticulturae 820: VIII International Mango Symposium
A NEW BACTROCERA SPECIES IN BENIN AMONG MANGO FRUIT FLY (DIPTERA: TEPHRITIDAE) SPECIES |
| Authors: | J.-F. Vayssières, G. Goergen, O. Lokossou, P. Dossa, C. Akponon |
| Keywords: | Benin, Mangifera indica, pests of plants, fruit damaging insects, Tephritidae, identification, population dynamics, biological competition, colonizing ability |
| Abstract:
Fruit flies are of major economic importance in tropical regions. In Benin, nothing was known about mango fruit fly species, except their damages. We therefore carried out first investigations in Northern Benin during the mango campaign in 2005. Our objectives were to study fluctuations of tephritid populations in orchards and to assess mango fruit fly infestations and mango losses due to tephritid species. Experiments were carried out in the Parakou area (Borgou department, Northern Benin). Fruit fly males were captured on mango trees, in two different orchards, with parapheromone traps. For sampling and characterizing fruit fly species involved in mangos infestations, fruits of 17 cultivars were collected in mango orchards from February to June 2005; then, they were brought to the laboratory for emerging species identification. For assessing the loss of fruits, sampling of different mango cultivars was achieved in the same orchards. Infested fruits were counted and eliminated; potentially infested fruits were dissected. Among eight mango fruit fly species found in Benin, four can be considered as species of economic significance: Ceratitis cosyra, C. quinaria, C. silvestrii and Bactrocera invadens. During the dry season, C. cosyra was the most abundant, whereas B. invadens was the most numerous during the rainy season in phenological accordance with the ripening of the different mango varieties. From and after mid-May, B. invadens was found more frequently than C. cosyra in the traps and from emergence of infested mangos. Average fruits damage varied from 10% (beginning of April) to 50% (June) for all species together. Most of the mango tephritid species found through our investigations were previously already observed in other West African countries, except B. invadens a newly described invasive species. Further ecological and behavioural studies are necessary to plan and implement IPM methods for controlling this new economical important pest in West Africa. | |
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