Quarantine treatment for grapefruit against Anastrepha ludens
A forced hot-air quarantine treatment has been developed in USA to eliminate Anastrepha ludens (EPPO A1 quarantine pest) from grapefruit (Citrus paradisi). Experiments carried out on artificially infested fruits with third instars (the most heat-tolerant stage) of A. ludens have shown that a forced hot-air treatment applied until the temperature of the centre of the fruit reached 48 °C is sufficient to ensure quarantine security (fulfilling probit 9 mortality = 99.9968 %). This treatment does not significantly affect the quality of the fruits.
It can be recalled that similar treatments have been proposed for A. suspensa (EPPO A1 quarantine pest) infesting grapefruit (EPPO RS 94/117), carambolas (EPPO RS 523/09, 1992), mangoes (Sharp, 1992) and for A. obliqua (EPPO A1 quarantine pest) on mangoes (EPPO RS 93/005).
Sources
Mangan, R.L.; Ingle, S.J. (1994) Forced hot-air quarantine treatment for grapefruit infested with Mexican fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae).
Journal of Economic Entomology, 87 (6), 1574-1579.
Sharp, J.L. (1992) Hot-air quarantine treatment for mango infested with Caribbean fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae).
Journal of Economic Entomology, 85 (6), 2302-2304.