Postharvest Disinfestation Treatments for False Codling Moth and Fruit Flies in Citrus from South Africa

South Africa is the 13th largest producer and second largest exporter of citrus fruit globally. The false codling moth, Thaumatotibia leucotreta, and the fruit flies, Ceratitis capitata, C. rosa and Bactrocera dorsalis, can potentially infest citrus fruit and therefore pose a phytosanitary risk for export markets. Consequently, a wide range of postharvest phytosanitary treatments for disinfestation of citrus fruit from these pests have been investigated. These include cold treatments, irradiation, fumigation, heat treatments, and combinations of some of these. Due to the potential phytotoxic effects of all these treatments, the use of a systems approach that depends on two or more independent measures for acceptable phytosanitary risk mitigation is a preferable option. To date, the only postharvest disinfestation treatments used commercially for T. leucotreta and fruit flies for South African citrus, are stand-alone cold treatments and partial cold treatments, as a component in a multi-tiered systems approach. Research on development of novel and improvement of existing postharvest measures continues as a high priority. This includes postharvest detection technologies, in addition to treatment technologies.

Automated summary

South Africa is a significant producer and exporter of citrus fruit, but pests such as the false codling moth and fruit flies pose phytosanitary risks for export markets. Various postharvest phytosanitary treatments have been explored, but a systems approach that combines multiple measures is preferred due to potential phytotoxic effects. Currently, the only commercially used postharvest treatments for these pests in South African citrus are cold treatments, either alone or as part of a multi-tiered systems approach. Research on developing and improving postharvest measures remains a high priority.