Pest Management in Miombo Fruit Trees - Indigenous Fruit Trees in the Tropics: Domestication, Utilization and Commercialization - page 379

species, Bactrocera invadens , a new invasive pest recently detected in East
Africa (Lux et al ., 2004). The pest originates from Sri Lanka, where it attacks
fruit of mango and Terminalia catappa . The latter is also attacked by this pest in
Africa. Bactrocera invadens is rapidly spreading within Africa. Recently it has
been recorded also from Sudan, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Nigeria, Ghana and other countries in West Africa. Wherever it is present, B.
invades tends to outcompete and displace the indigenous Ceratitis cosyra , and
to become a dominant pest of both mango and morula. Like Ceratitis cosyra , it
can cause fruit infestation reaching up to 70%. Thus, both the indigenous fruit
fly, Ceratitis cosyra , and the new invasive one, B. invadens , if not controlled,
can substantially reduce the profits from the utilization of morula fruits and
mango cultivation alike. In Zambia, Ceratitis cosyra also attacks Uapaca
kirkiana and Parinari curatellifolia (G. Sileshi, unpublished results) and also
mangoes (Javaid, 1986) . Strychnos species are the native hosts of Ceratitis
pedestris and Scleropithus spp. in southern Africa (Hancock, 1989). Ceratitis
spp. have been observed attacking Annona senegalensis and Garcinia
livingstonei fruits in Mozambique (R.R. Bandeira, unpublished results). Other
miombo fruits are likely to be infested by specific sets of other native fruit fly
species common in Africa, such as Ceratitis anonae , C. rosa , C. fasciventris , C.
capitata and many others, each of them highly polyphagous, with diverse but
partially overlapping host ranges.
In general, moths are little known and greatly underrated pests of fruits in
Africa, both cultivated and miombo fruits. In South Africa, Sclerocarya birrea
fruits are also damaged by Mussidia melanoneura and Cortyta canescens (De
Lange et al ., 2001). Moth larvae such as Deudorix sp. and Cryptophlebia
invade mature fruit pulp of Parinari curatellifolia (Parker, 1978). The false
codling moth Cryptophlebia leucotreta is one of the more serious pests. It has a
wide range of host plants in southern Africa. It has been reared on a number of
occasions from Uapaca kirkiana , Parinari curatellifolia and Sclerocarya birrea in
eastern Zambia (G. Sileshi, unpublished results). It has also been reported to
attack miombo species such as Ziziphus mucronata , Sclerocarya birrea and
Ximenia caffra , and exotic fruits such as citrus, mango, avocado, peach and
guava in Malawi (Lee, 1971) and South Africa (Begemann and Schoeman,
1999). Infestations lead to premature fruit drop in citrus, and it can damage as
much as 90% of a citrus crop.
Packing of fruit infested by either fruit fly or moth larvae causes postharvest
decay and may lead to export rejection due to international phytosanitary
regulations (Begemann and Schoeman, 1999). Although fruit-damaging insects
are important pests of horticultural crops as well as miombo fruits in southern
Africa, little work has been done on them, particularly with regard to their
biology and ecology.
Birds and mammals
Among the birds that feed on Sclerocarya birrea , the parrot Poicephalus meyeri
damages the fruit to feed on the nuts (Hall et al ., 2002). Frugivorous bats also
feed widely on fruits of Parinari curatellifolia in eastern Zambia (G. Sileshi,