Description:

• A warm humid condition is ideal for fruit fly infestation. They attack during flowering, and fruiting stages.
• In severe infestation, it can cause yield loss up to 70%.

Damage Symptoms:

• Egg-laying activity causes a small hole in the fruit surface.
• Soft, rotting patches could be seen on deformed and discolored fruits.
• When split open, infested fruits show maggots.
• Premature dropping of fruits leads to severe yield loss.

Preventive Measures:

• Bait traps having a mixture of protein hydrolysate and insecticide should be used in order to reduce the adult population.
• Infested fruits should be removed and destroyed immediately.

Control Measures:

• Applying neem products to the plants helps defend against adult flies.
• Spray malathion at 0.1% or Spinosad at 0.5% on the plants and nearby areas.