Quarantine disinfestation of capsicums against Queensland fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) with dimethoate

Abstract

A postharvest dimethoate treatment at 400 mg/L applied through a packing-line spray system achieved >99.99% efficacy as a quarantine disinfestation method against Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt) infesting capsicums (peppers), Capsicum annuum L. There were no survivors in confirmatory tests on fruit containing 77 130 eggs, the most tolerant life stage. The spray system thoroughly wetted fruit at a delivery rate of 9.2 L/min.m2 for a minimum time of 1 min.