Tag Archives: worms

Nobody Wants an Orange with a Worm Inside

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Med Fly

Med Fly

Medfly females lay their eggs inside many different fruit and vegetable crops, including oranges. When the eggs hatch, small Medfly worms begin eating inside the fruit. In order to keep Spain’s oranges free from these worms, growers have to spray.

“The Mediterranean fruit fly is one of the most destructive pests of fruit in the world, attacking >250 species of fruits and vegetables. In Spain, this fly is considered one of the most economically damaging pests of citrus orchards. Direct losses result from the oviposition in fruits, larval activity, and eventual infection by fungi. In addition, quarantine measures are required for exportation to fly-free areas.”

(2)”The Mediterranean fruit fly is one of the most serious pests affecting cultivated plants in the world… Its life strategy includes changes of host species throughout the year, because larvae develop inside fruits only when they are mature.
Eastern Spain has a heterogeneous fruit growing area which extends all along the coast of Iberian Peninsula, from north to south… The most important damage to citrus fruits is produced between September and November, when satsuma and clementine mandarins reach maturity and suffer heavy attacks. Traditional control methods for reducing medfly populations and damage in citrus groves rely on the use of chemical sprays applied to fruits near harvest.”

(1)
Authors: C. Magaña, P. Hernández-Crespo, F. Ortego and P. Castañera
Affiliation: Departamento de Biología de Plantas, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, CSIC, Madrid, Spain
Title: Resistance to malathion in field populations of Ceratitis capitata.
Publication: Journal of Economic Entomology. 2007. 100(6):1836-1843.

(2)
Authors: Martinez-Ferrer M.T., et al.
Affiliation: IRTA Amposta. Ctra. de Balada, km. 1. 43870 Amposta (Tarragona). Spain.
Title: Seasonal and annual trends in field populations of Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata, in Mediterranean citrus groves: comparison of two geographic areas in eastern Spain.
Publication: Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research. 2010. 8(3):757-765.

Insecticide Use on Brinjal Reduces Poverty in Rural Areas of India

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Brinjal, also known as eggplant or aubergine, is native to India. A total of 1.4 million small family farms grow brinjal, which provides a steady income from market sales for most of the year. The biggest threats to brinjal are insects that can damage 95% of the crop. Worms feeding inside the fruit result in destruction of the fruit tissues. The feeding tunnels become clogged with excreta. This makes even slightly damaged fruit unfit for marketing.

“Brinjal is the most common, popular and principal vegetable crop grown in many geographical parts in India. … Brinjal is mainly cultivated on small family farms and it is a source of cash income for resource-poor farmers. … Farmers use large quantities of chemical insecticides singly or in combination to get blemish free fruits, which fetch premium prices in the market.”

Author: S. Dhas and M. Srivastava
Affiliation: Laboratory of Entomology, Department of Biology, Government Dungar College, Bikaner, Rajasthan, India
Title: An assessment of Carbaryl residues on brinjal crop in an agricultural field in Bikaner, Rajasthan (India)
Publication: Asian Journal of Agricultural Science. 2010. 2(1):15-17.