Awareness of Mango Farmers at Southern Ethiopia on the Pest Status and Current Management Practices for the Control of the Fruit Flies (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Abstract

Fruit flies generally considered as the most devastating pest of fruits and vegetables. The invasive fruit fly, Bacterocera dorsalis, expected to be introduced to Ethiopia in 2005. The awareness of mango farmers from Gamo and Wolaita districts in Ethiopia on the pest status and the current management options adopted for the control of this pest was followed by the use of a questionnaire. The survey results indicated that Ethiopian farmers rank fruit flies among the major pests of mango in Ethiopia. Farmers generally believed that it is more damaging than other insect pests of mango. Possible losses such as loss of market value and rejection of produce at the local market were also reported by the farmers. Several tactics are being adopted by farmers for the control of fruit flies in Ethiopia. These tactics include the use of insecticide, cultural control measure and, the use of trappings to manage fruit flies. Some of the respondents use a combination of insecticides and cultural practices to reduce the menace of fruit flies. It was evident that farmers adopt multiple tactics to minimize the losses due to fruit flies in an IPM fashion.