High-Temperature, Forced-Air Quarantine Treatment for Papayas Infested with Tephritid Fruit Flies (Diptera: Tephritidae)

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Abstract
A high-temperature forced-air (HTFA) disinfestation treatment using four temperature stages was developed to disinfest Hawaii-grown papaya, Carica papaya L. cv. Solo, of the egg and larval stages of Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann); melon fly, Dacus cucurbitae Coquillett; and oriental fruit fly, D. dorsalis Hendel. The fourstage treatment forced 43 ± 1, 45 ± 1, 46.5 ± 1, and 49 ± 0.5°C hot air over the papaya surfaces until the fruit center temperatures at the end of each temperature stage reached 41 ± 1.5,44 ± 1,46.5 ± 0.75, and 47.2°C, respectively. Each of the first three temperature stages required about 2 h to heat the fruit to the corresponding fruit center temperatures; the last temperature stage required C. capitata, and between 45.2 and 46.2°C for D. cucurbitae and D. dorsalis. D. cucurbitae was more susceptible to the HTFA treatment than C. capitata or D. dorsalis. Survival tests also showed that either first or third instars were more susceptible to the HTFA treatment than eggs for all three fruit fly species.