Ethyl formate and low temperature combination treatment for disinfestation of oriental fruit flies in mandarins

The Oriental fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis, OFF) is a serious pest and trade-barrier of tropical fruits worldwide. Due to its wide host range and high reproductive potential, strict quarantine guidelines are in place to limit its spread to an unestablished area. Some of the approved quarantine treatments for OFF include irradiation, methyl bromide (MB), and combination treatment of MB + cold. However, the use of MB has been phasing out due to its impact on ozone layer. We are testing the potential of using ethyl formate (EF) or EF + cold combination treatment as an alternative treatment of MB-based OFF treatments. In this talk, we provide updates on 1) efficacy of stand-alone EF, stand-alone cold storage, and EF + cold combination treatments on different life stages of OFF, 2) effect of each treatment on the quality of mandarin at the 99% efficacy treatment level for most tolerant OFF life stages to respective treatments, 3) confirmatory efficacy of these treatments on most tolerant life stages of OFF infested in mandarin, and 4) future direction for optimization of postharvest treatment protocols for the disinfestation of OFF.