Bionomics of Bactrocera dorsalis (Diptera: Tephritidae) – an important pest of Mango (Mangifera indica) in Jammu (J & K)

Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is known as “king of fruits”. Several insects are known to cause significant damage to mango and affect its productivity. One of them is Bactrocera dorsalis which is an important pest of mango in India. Keeping in view the medical, economical and dietary importance of mango and damage done to it by different insect pests, work was done to study the biology of this pest which causes huge damage during (May to September). Adults are strong fliers, eggs are laid in the soft skin of ripening fruits. On hatching, the maggots bore into the fruit further and feed on soft pulp. The infested fruits bear depressions with dark green punctures and when cut open wriggling maggots were seen inside. Later, the affected fruits get malformed and in conjugation with bacterial activity, fruits rot and ultimately fall down. Maggots emerge from these fruits and pupate in the soil

Bionomics, Bactrocera dorsalis, Mango