Radiation disinfestation as a quarantine treatment for solo papaya

Solo papaya is subject to infestation by the Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel). Since ethylene dibromide has been banned for use as a fumigant for fruits, gamma radiation was investigated as an alternative quarantine disinfestation treatment for solo papaya. Results of small-scale laboratory tests showed that 150 Gy completely prevented the emergence of B. dorsalis. For egg-infested solo papaya, pupal recovered decreased with increasing dose while insect survival was not associated with fruit maturity. For larvae-infested ones, insect survival, in general, was highest in the full-ripe stage and lowest in the one-fourth-ripe stage of the fruit. Confirmatory tests of the proposed treatment using more than 100,000 test insects revealed that 150 Gy radiation dose is sufficient to provide Probit 9 quarantine security for solo papaya. (author). 10 refs.; 1 fig.; 4 tabs