Evaluation of wooden dispensers block of methyl eugenol formulation for attraction of Tephritid fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) under terai region of West Bengal

Abstract

Efficacy of different wooden blocks as dispenser block of methyl eugenol (Male Annihilation Technique) for attraction of Bactrocera species has been studies. Self-made transparent rectangular PET plastic jars around 1 litter capacity and having four circular holes of 1 cm in diameter on four sides of the jar just below the shoulder of the bottle (i.e. 1/ 3rd from top) openings for the entry of flies. The pooled data of mean weekly catch was recorded highest in plywood dispenser block (13.40 flies/trap/week) followed by mango (13.37 flies/trap/week) and neem (12.67 flies/trap/week) and lowest in babul dispenser block (10.97 flies/trap/week) followed by sissoo (11.28 flies/trap/week) in 7th DAI. The mean persistence period was highest in plywood dispenser block, while lowest in sissoo dispenser block When overall mean values of trap-catch were considered from DAI, highest efficacy was noted by plywood (7.61 flies/trap/week) followed by mango (7.48 flies/trap/week) and neem dispenser block (7.29 flies/trap/week) whereas lowest catch was observed in sissoo (5.67 flies/trap/week) followed by babul dispenser bock (6.06 flies/trap/week). The results also suggested that more number of flies’ species were annihilated in second year of experimentation than first year.