Evaluation the efficiency of pheromone traps and monitoring of fruit fly population in peach orchards in Swat valley

Abstract

Fruit flies are the major insect pests of fruits and vegetables and cause a huge economic damage to the fruits and cucurbits. To manage the pest, a proper monitoring strategy is needed. Usually sex attracting pheromone traps are used. Therefore a field study was conducted at Agriculture Research Institute (North) Mingora Swat to study the population of fruit flies and evaluate the efficiency of the pheromone traps in the monitoring and control of fruit fly. Three different designs of pheromone traps with sticker were installed in the peach orchards during summer 2011 and 2012. The recorded data showed that the population was at maximum at the beginning and decreased towards the end of the season. Analysis of variance showed significant differences among the populations trapped during different weeks of the seasons. The data revealed that the flat trap was the most efficient while the box trap showed poor performance. It is required that these traps may be assessed in other fruit orchards in different climates and regions of the country.