Management of fruit flies and fruit sucking moth infesting Nagpur mandarin

Abstract

Nagpur mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco) is one of the most economically important citrus crops grown in the region of Nagpur district of Maharashtra. Its commercial production is severely reduced by the infestation of fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) and fruit sucking moths (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) which cause the most pre and post-harvest losses. Keeping this in view, the present investigation entitled "Management of Fruit Flies and Fruit Sucking Moths Infesting Nagpur Mandarin" was undertaken during Ambiya bahar 2025 to evaluate the efficacy of botanical oils, fish oil, fruit fly traps and fruit sucking moth baits. Field evaluation revealed that cumulative fruit damage due to fruit flies after three sprays ranged from 7.43 to 23.41 per cent, with Pongamia oil 1.0 per cent proved most effective (7.43 per cent infestation) in reducing damage, followed by fish oil 1.0 per cent (10.98 per cent) at par with neem oil 1.0 per cent (11.53 per cent), horticultural mineral oil 1.0 per cent (13.11 per cent), and fruit fly trap (15.82 per cent) with respect to control (23.41 per cent). Similarly, fruit damage due to fruit sucking moth ranged from 5.78 to 11.49 per cent, with pongamia oil 1.0 per cent recorded the lowest damage (5.78 per cent), followed by fish oil 1.0 per cent (7.14 per cent) at par with neem oil 1.0 per cent (7.37 per cent), horticultural mineral oil 1.0 per cent (8.41 per cent), and fruit sucking moth bait (9.17 per cent) with respect to control (11.49 per cent). The study concludes that an integrated approach of using pongamia oil (1 per cent) in combination with fruit fly traps and fruit sucking moth baits offers an effective, economically viable, and eco-friendly strategy for managing the pests in Nagpur mandarin orchards.