17 Apr 2025

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.

READ MORE

24 Jan 2025
Shade cloth over citrus

FINAL REPORT: Integrated pest management under nets in the Western Cape

We investigated the incidence of citrus pests under netted and in open orchards. Two sites with paired netted and open orchards in the Western Cape were used in the study, one near Porterville and one near De Doorns. Netting differed in the extent of coverage and maintenance of tears. The study found that pests differed more between sites than between open or netted orchards. The differences between pests in netted and open orchards was more pronounced when netting reached to the ground and was repaired regularly.

READ MORE