Population dynamics of medfly on citrus orchards in Korinthos region, Greece.

Abstract

The cultivation of citrus is of commercial importance in Greece. Medfly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), infests citrus resulting in a substantial crop damage. The aim of this study was to monitor medfly population in citrus orchards using different monitoring devices. Α pilot field have been selected in Kechries, Korinthos, Peloponesse. The pilot field is composed by several citrus orchards. It has been divided into 3 Integrated Pest Management (IPM) units (A, B, G) and each unit, of approximately 10ha, included a mixture of citrus species (oranges, tangerines, bitter oranges and mandarins). In each plot, a network of traps has been deployed consisting of tephritraps, Jackson, and decis traps). Traps were served on a weekly basis and renewal of the attractants for each type of trap was done at regular intervals. Our two years of monitoring showed that adults start to appear in the orchard in beginning of April with the first peak of a spring generation occurring in mid -May. In 2020, trap captures remained low during summer and increased in September-October. In 2021, high numbers of adults were trapped until mid- Summer and then deceased in August to increase again in end of September early October. It is likely that the extreme heat during summer of 2021 affected medfly populations in the area. Based on trapping data, up to six generations are completed in this study area within a year. Decis traps captured more medfly females than Tephri traps, especially during the end of autumn.