2013 Volume 8 Issue 2 Pages 79-84
Fruit flies such as the Bactrocera dorsalis complex (Diptera:Tephritidae) are serious horticultural pests. In Indonesia—especially in Bogor, West Java—fruit flies are major pests on guava and star fruit, both valuable crops. Synthetic insecticides are popular for fruit fly control. However, their inappropriate use can negatively affect the environment and humans. Methyl eugenol extracted from the leaves of plants such as Melaleuca bracteata and Ocimum sp. as a male fruit fly attractant is an environmentally friendly and consumer-safe alternative for control. We determined the potency of leaf extracts as fruit fly attractants by observing their effectiveness against the most destructive fruit flies (B. dorsalis complex) in guava and star fruit orchard, therefore identification to both species is needed. Seven attractants were tested for trapping fruit flies: essential oils of M. bracteata and Ocimum sp., along with each residual distillation water, mash extracts of each species, and commercial methyl eugenol as a control. Both essential oils showed high potential as fruit fly attractants. For more than 2 weeks they attracted male fruit flies in guava and star fruit orchards as effectively as commercial methyl eugenol. Distillation water and mash extracts from the leaves of both plants lasted for a maximum of 6 days. In a guava orchard, M. bracteata and Ocimum sp. essential oils and the control trapped 78.75, 77.5, and 88.75 fruit flies, respectively, over 2 weeks, and in a star fruit orchard they trapped 35.75, 38.75, and 40.50, respectively. Capture rates using distillation water and mash extracts from both plants were significantly lower than those using essential oils in both orchards. In the guava orchard 57.14% of the fruit flies trapped were B. papayae and 42.85% B. carambolae (n＝70); in the star fruit orchard, 45.71% were B. papayae and 54.28% were B. carambolae (n＝70).
