Identifying volatile emissions associated with False Codling Moth infested citrus fruit
- Authors: Van der Walt, Rachel
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Citrus -- Diseases and pests , Insect pests , Cryptophlebia leucotreta
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:10343 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020056
- Description: False codling moth is a known pest of economic importance to many cultivated crops in South Africa and Africa south of the Sahara, and is particularly severe on citrus. If the fruit is infested just before harvest the chances of detecting signs of infestation are very low. As a result, the risk of packaging infested fruit and exporting them as healthy fruit is high. It is therefore a priority to develop a post-harvest technique for detection of False codling moth in citrus fruit at different levels of infestation in order to reduce phytosanitary risk. Compounds released and detected were indicative of infestation and were not insect produced but naturally produced fruit volatiles emitted at higher levels as a result of the insect within the fruit. Five major volatile compounds of interest were released by the infested oranges. These major volatile compounds include D-limonene, 3,7-dimethyl-1,3,6-octatriene, (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene, caryophyllene and naphthalene. Limonene was one of the most abundant volatile compounds released by the infested citrus fruit. Naphthalene, which is possibly produced due to larval feeding and development within the fruit maintained higher concentrations than controls throughout the infestation within the fruit. Naphthalene would be a good indicator of False codling moth infestation, however, not primarily for early infestation detection. A significantly higher concentration of D-limonene, 3,7-dimethyl-1,3,6-octatriene, (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene and naphthalene was detected using the SEP over the SPME technique. The application of an SPME procedure and the utilization of this method for detection of volatiles present in the headspace of intact infested fruit are evaluated and the possible volatile compounds diagnostic of Thaumatotibia leucotreta infestation of orange fruit and differences in volatile compound response in different orange varieties is discussed.
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- Date Issued: 2012
Some aspects of the insect ecology of citrus orchards
- Authors: Smithers, Courtenay Neville
- Date: 1954
- Subjects: Citrus -- Diseases and pests , Insect pests
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5883 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013231
- Description: After a brief introduction, the species of Citrus on which the investigations were carried out are mentioned. This is followed by an account of the methods of collection used, and a discussion of their relative merits. The main method used was that in which the trees were fumigated with hydrocyanic acid gas, and the insects falling from the trees were taken up on sheets. The location of the areas where collections were made are then given. An annotated list of the species taken by the fumigation method follows, and the numerical data obtained at the same time regarding the species present is given in an abbreviated form and discussed. A more detailed discussion of the relative abundance of the species is then undertaken. The discussion of the ecology of the insects commences with the insects listed according to their activities, so far as known, and an account of five trees of striking faunal differences is given. A broader discussion of citrus ecology is then given, based on the data previously presented; this ends with a short reminder of the inherent 'oneness' of the insect with its environment.
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- Date Issued: 1954