Integrated Fumigation Strategies for Efficient Disinfestation of Quarantine Pests in Fresh Produce

Changyao Shan

doi:10.60867/00000091

With the development of international fresh fruit trade, the danger of introducing pests to other parts of the world has significantly increased. Of these, tephritid fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) and mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) are of particular concern, as they are common interception species on fresh fruit cargo. Their exotic introductions and establishment into new areas affect agriculture and ecosystem services and create significant biosecurity and technical trade square wounds. Such risks emphasize the critical requirement for cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and commodity-appropriate quarantine treatments that can better preserve biosecurity while maintaining fruit quality. Quarantine treatments now are generally categorized into physical treatments, including cold treatments, heat treatments, and irradiation, and chemical treatment, predominantly fumigation. Given this background, fumigation continues to be an essential means of biosecurity postharvest quarantine treatment because of its wide spectrum activities, fast-acting property, and easy operation. Although the concept of alternatives to methyl bromide (MB) has been broadly accepted and several novel fumigants such as ethyl formate and gaseous phosphine, are rapidly being developed, current fumigation practices continue to be dominated by a single-action technique while the increase in global trade of fresh produce fuels the urgency for the replacement of MB-based fumigation internationally. This ongoing dependence often requires heavy dose application for quarantine-level control that raises the possibility of phytotoxic damage, economic value loss, and chemical residues. These are particularly important issues concerning fresh commodities because in this type of produce even slight damage or the presence of active residues may have serious consequences on marketability. Furthermore, development and dissemination of pest resistance make the use of the current fumigants more difficult. In order to overcome these problems, an integrated fumigation strategy that combines not only different fumigants but two fumigants with a physical treatment such as atmosphere modification or temperature (heat or cold) treatment, may improve the efficiency and effectiveness and may reduce the dosages of fumigants applied. This was proposed to be an effective and environmentally friendly approach to control pests. In the MB and PH3 model, the synergistic action in Bactrocera correcta control in red dragon fruit was significant in the first model, and the synergism ratio values were 2.0 and over in all cases. This integration made it possible to decrease the MB dose by over 30% without affecting the fumigant efficacy and marketability of the fruit. In the second model, the presence of carbon dioxide (CO2) in EF fumigation had a highly significant impact on the control of Pseudococcus jackbeardsleyi in pineapple, and the greatest enhancement occurred in the treatment chamber when there was a 10% CO2 concentration supplementing EF fumigation. This was also beneficial in fruit firmness retention and respiration stress reduction. For the third model, application of PH3 or EF followed by cold (5℃) showed a better effect as well to provide complete control against both most tolerant and second most tolerant stages of P. jackbeardsleyi in dragon fruit. This strategy allowed for significant reductions in fumigant dosage, while the fruit appearance and shelf-life were retained. These finding indicate that the combination of fumigation and supplemental treatments can enhance pest control results, save chemical usage, and maintain fresh commodity quality better. This approach represents a feasible and scalable method to achieve commercially disinfestation treatment with efficacy and residue-conscious in international fresh produce trade.

Integrated Fumigation Strategies for Efficient Disinfestation of Quarantine Pests in Fresh Produce

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