Diversity and abundance of pestiferous fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) infesting cucurbit crops in Morogoro, eastern-central Tanzania

Abstract

Fruit flies represent a significant threat to cucurbit production. They inflict about 30% to 100% losses on cucurbit crops. The aim of this study was to characterize the community of fruit flies infesting cucurbit crops in Morogoro, Tanzania. We investigate the diversity and abundance of fruit fly species infesting cucumber, watermelon, and squash across the two agroecological zones of the Morogoro using three attractants (Cue Lure, Zingerone and Biolure). The attractants were deployed for 16 weeks from June to November 2020. In total, 12017 fruit fly specimens were collected. Of these, 77.23% were collected from the mountainous and the remaining 22.77% from the plateau zone. All specimens belonged to the genera Dacus, Zeugodacus and Bactrocera. Zeugodacus cucurbitae was the most abundant species (77.6%) while the remaining species constituted 22.4%. The mountainous zone harboured a significantly higher number of fruit fly species than the plateau zone. The abundance of fruit flies was significantly influenced by altitudes and seasons. The study characterized the community of fruit flies in Morogoro and confirms the prevalence of Z. cucurbitae, D. bivittatus and D. punctatifrons as prominent species in this region. Therefore, management programs should focus on containing these species regardless of the agroecological zones and seasons.