Purpose: Mohini Pheromone Lure for trapping of adult male flies of Bactrocera cucurbitae (commonly known as Melon Fly or Melon Fruit Fly).
Target Crops: Over 70 host plants including bitter gourd, muskmelon, gourds, cucumber, gherkin, and watermelon.
Impact: Female flies prefer young, green, and tender fruits for egg laying. The females lay the eggs 2 to 4 mm deep in the fruit pulp, and the maggots feed inside the developing fruits. The fruits attacked in early stages fail to develop properly and drop or rot on the plant. Since, the maggots damage the fruits internally, it is difficult to control this pest with insecticides. Heavy infestations can cause complete losses of the crop. Therefore, mass trapping the adult flies will be the effective management strategy.
Instruction to Use: It is recommended to be used with Fly Trap. Normally a fly trap has the top part transparent, and the base is yellow. In the upper part of the trap, Mohini Fruit Fly lure should be placed in the lure holder. Traps can be hanged from tree branches with the wire hanger provided on top of the trap body.
Time of Use: For monitoring 5-6 Lure per Acre. For mass trapping around 12 Lures per Acre are recommended. It is advisable to place the trap and lures coinciding with the time of initial attack of pest. Lure gets activated in 2 days and is effective for 45-60 days. For effective results, replace the Lure after 45 days.
Additional Instructions for using Food Bait: Pheromone lures only attract the male species. To attract and trap the female species also, use of food bait is advised. The lower part of the trap needs to be filled with food bait. Normally food bait is mixed with water and the preparation is poured in the lower part of the traps. It should be refilled if water is evaporated.
