Biological Control of Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Argentina: Releases of Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in Fruit-Producing Semi-Arid Areas of San Juan
The Mediterranean
fruit fly (Medfly), Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) is one of the major
pests of fruit crops in Argentina and it is a phytosanitary barrier to the
export of fresh fruits. In the Province of San Juan, located in the
central-eastern region of Argentina known as Cuyo, control strategies against Medfly in fruit-producing
irrigated-valleys have been implemented by the National Fruit Fly Control and
Eradication Program (ProCEM) jointly with the provincial government and the
producers. This program uses an area-wide integrated pest management approach
that includes the use of environment-friendly strategies to suppress or
eradicate Medfly, such as the use of the sterile insect technique and the
application of new-generation bait sprays, and more recently the release of the
Indo-Pacific parasitoid Diachasmimorphalongicaudata (Ashmead). This
exotic larval-prepupal endoparasitoid is being
mass-reared on larvae of Vienna 8 TSL C. capitata strain at the BioPlanta San Juan facility. In this respect, the objective of
this study was to assess the effectiveness of laboratory-reared D. longicaudata females in order to find
and successfully parasitize Medfly larvae in different host fruit species once
released under semi-arid environmental conditions in ecologically isolated
fruit-growing valleys of San Juan. Ground releases were used to disperse
parasitoids in 6 fruit-producing valleys. In total, 40,000 adult parasitoids
were released at places with various Medfly host plants bearing fruits and in
which no insecticides were regularly applied, such as backyards and small
orchards. 119 D. longicaudata adults
were recovered from 6 Medfly-infested fruit species that were collected in 5
release sites (Pocito, Zonda, Santa Lucía, Caucete, and Rivadavia). The highest
number of parasitoids was recovered from fig, followed by grape, rose, orange,
tangerine, and persimmon. Data provided from this study
open up the possibility of implementing a parasitoid mass-release program in
San Juan.
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