ASSESSMENT OF INVASIVE FRUIT FLY FRUIT INFESTATION AND DAMAGE IN CABO DELGADO PROVINCE, NORTHERN MOZAMBIQUE

Fruit flies are among the most important pests of fruits and vegetables in the world. The invasive fruit fly Bactrocera invadens (Diptera: Tephritidae) was first detected in Africa in 2003 in Kenya. In Mozambique, it was first recorded in 2007 in Niassa Province. Direct damage due to B. invadens attack in African countries varies between 30-80%, but in Mozambique such information is lacking. This study aimed at assessing fruit damage and B. invadens infestation levels in different fruits in Mozambique. Four fruit fly species emerged from the collected fruits: Bactrocera invadens, Ceratitis rosa, Ceratitis cosyra and Ceratitis capitata. Bactrocera invadens was the most abundant species (97%), followed by C. rosa (1.8%), C. cosyra (1.1%) and C. capitata (0.1%). The highest damage was observed in guava (92.5% of fruits) followed by tropical almond (67.3%) and mango (56.5%). Mean number of pupae/fruit and per kg was also higher in guava with 10.10±0.57 and 217.33±3.93, respectively. Tropical almond had the highest number of B. invadens/fruit (6.63±1.35) and per kg (157.24±7.35). The severity of damage was high in all economically important hosts.