Abstract
In India, fruit flies are among the most critical agricultural pests, due to their ability to feed on various plants (polyphagous) and the substantial economic losses they inflict on fruit and vegetable crops, with damage ranging from 2.5% – 100% depending on the crop and region. Research was undertaken in 2022 and 2023 at Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab, to investigate the impact of weather parameters on population fruit flies in kinnow and guava fruit crops across two agro-ecological zones in Northwest India. Throughout this fruiting season, methyl eugenol (ME) based pheromone and fruit fly traps were used to monitor fruit fly populations in fruit orchards. The highest fruit fly incidence in the guava ecosystem was recorded between the 35th and 39th standard weeks. In the kinnow ecosystem, the peak incidence occurred between the 39th and 42nd standard weeks in both years. The most dominant species was Bactrocera zonata, while Bactrocera dorsalis was the next most prevalent. Zeugodacus cucurbitae ranked third in species composition, while Bactrocera correcta occupied the fourth position. In both 2022 and 2023, the Shannon diversity index was highest in the kinnow ecosystem, followed by the guava ecosystem in 2022. Kinnow 2022 also exhibited greater species richness and evenness. These findings are crucial for guiding the development of precise pest management strategies tailored to specific zones.
doi: 10.17756/jfcn.2025-s1-004
Citation: Ghodekar KS, Devi YK, Sonawane VK, Kangjam B, Longkumer IY, et al. 2025. Effects of Biodiversity and Climate Variables on Fruit Fly Infestations: Implications for Nutritional Quality of Kinnow and Guava in Punjab, India. J Food Chem Nanotechnol 11(S1): S21-S27.
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