Mass Rearing and Quality Control Parameters for Tephritid Fruit Flies of Economic Importance in Africa

Tephritid fruit flies are recognized worldwide as the most important threat to horticulture (Allwood and Drew, 1997; Barnes, 2004; Ekesi and Billah, 2007). Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is the aboriginal home to 915 fruit fly species from 148 genera, out of which 299 species develop in either wild or cultivated fruit. They belong mainly to four genera: Bactrocera, Ceratitis, Dacus, and Trirhithrum (White and Elson-Harris, 1992). Most of the fruit fly species are highly polyphagous attacking several important fruits and vegetables including mango, citrus, guava, avocado, tomatoes, pepper, cucurbits etc. Female fruit flies that lay eggs under the skin of fruits and vegetables cause direct losses. The eggs hatch into larvae that feed in the decaying flesh of the crop. Infested fruits and vegetables quickly rot and become inedible or drop to the ground. Beside the direct damage to fruits, indirect losses is associated with quarantine restrictions because infestation and sometimes mere presence of the flies in a particular country could also restrict the free trade and export of fresh horticultural produce to large lucrative markets abroad. The introduction of uniform and strict Maximum Residue Levels (MRL) across Europe compounds the problem and further jeopardizes export. Of greater concern is the fact that even in countries where fruit fly management methods are undertaken, rejection by European markets is on the increase largely because with global trade and passenger trafficking, they are easily translocated and the risk of majority of African fruit flies as key and potential quarantine pests is becoming increasingly realized (OleMoiYoi and Lux, 2004). Although fruit flies attack a variety of horticultural crops in SSA, most of the fruit fly R&D in SSA has concentrated largely on mango infesting species largely because of the recognition of this crop as an important source of food and nutritional security. Globally, mango is the second most internationally traded crop after pineapple providing much needed income to poor rural households and the national economy. In Africa, assessments by the icipe-led African Fruit Fly program (AFFP) has revealed that out of the 1.9 million tons of mangoes produced annually across Africa about 40% is lost to fruit fly infestation (Lux et al., 2003). Majority of fruit fly species in Africa are little known but rank high on quarantine list worldwide. Some of the most important species attacking mango include the