Biological Control of Mediterranean Fruit Fly Ceratitis capitata. The Mediterranean Fruit Fly (Ceratitis capitata [Wiedemann])

Diptera: Tephritidae is one of the most destructive agricultural pests in citrus and fruit trees worldwide particularly in temperate and hot growing areas. In Spain, the total affected surface is over 300.000 ha. including citrus, fruit trees, table grapes and even vegetables like peppers in integrated pest management (IPM) programs. Currently, medfly common control strategies to avoid fruit damage are based on several applications of pesticides with low efficiency results. These crops productions are for fresh market consumption, so it is very important that the best quality and the minimum pesticide residue are achieved. In commercial farms damaged fruit must be under 1.5% of the total production. The production losses encouraged the use of the mass trapping control method, as an alternative to chemicals, in the context of IPM to which most of the fruit growers fit. Different mass trapping techniques are used in Spain. Problems are a high cost, its efficacy and the need to use DDVP as an insecticide (about to be forbidden in the European Union). CERA TRAP is a mass trapping system based on a liquid protein obtained by an exclusive method of enzymatic hydrolysis and is able to reduce the pesticide application at minimum or even making it completely unnecessary. There is not any pesticide in CERA TRAP composition and there is not need to add any pesticide in the traps.