Field Evaluation of Various Dispensers for Methyl Eugenol in India, an Attractant of Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae)

The attractiveness and longevity of methyl eugenol dispensers to oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) was tested in a peach orchard in Kashmir, India. Methyl eugenol (ME) applied on plywood block captured male flies efficiently up to 10 weeks. Although the mean number of males captured during the 1st week in traps with plywood dispensers was comparatively less than straw-board, cotton wick, acacia, sponge and rubber block dispensers, captures increased during the next 5 weeks and thereafter decreased. However trap captures decreased after the 2nd week for the rest of the dispensers. Our results suggest that the plywood block is the most attractive and long lived methyl eugenol dispenser for capturing B. dorsalis and has potential for monitoring and control activities in India.