Integrated management strategies for control of cherry fruit flies, Rhagoletis cingulata and Rhagoletis fausta (Diptera: Tephritidae)

The genus Rhagoletis, of the dipteran family Tephritidae, includes some 50 described species and is widely distributed over the Holarctic and Neotropical regions. Many of these species are major economic pests of fruit such as cherries. The eastern, Rhagoletis cingulata (Loew) and black, R. fausta (Osten Saken) cherry fruit flies are native to North America. They are major pests of cultivated sweet (Prunus avium) and tart (P. cerasus) cherries. In order to ensure maggot-free fruit to meet the stringent zero tolerance levels mandated by Federal and State regulations (FRL-6813-9), growers generally apply two to three applications of broad-spectrum insecticides, primarily organophosphates, for reduction of fly populations. Implementation of the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) of 1996 may prevent the future use of organophosphates as well as other conventional insecticides for management of key Rhagoletis species. As a result, the focus of my research was to investigate the potential of developing an integrated system for control of cherry fruit flies. This includes: (1) improving current cherry fruit fly monitoring techniques with Rebell™ traps; (2) identifying reduced-risk compounds that can be used in cherry fruit fly management programs; (3) deployment of biodegradable pesticide-treated trapping devices and entomopathogenic nematodes to suppress adult and larval populations respectively. This project has yielded a new set of pest management tools for optimizing control of cherry fruit flies.