Identification and Distribution of Fruit Flies in Chili Cultivation in Kendal Regency

Abstract

Fruit flies are a common pest in horticultural crops, particularly in chili plants, where they can cause severe damage, it cause significant losses to chili plants of up to 50-100%. This research was conducted to identify the species and distribution patterns of fruit flies present in chili plantations in Kendal Regency. The study was conducted in Gempol, Ngesrepbalong, Limbangan District, Kendal Regency and continued with identification at the Ecology and Biosystematics Laboratory, Faculty of Science and Mathematics, Diponegoro University and the Animal, Fish and Plant Quarantine Center of Central Java. The study was conducted with a monofactor experiment of attractant type treatment and 2 treatment levels, namely Methyl Eugenol (M1) and Clove Oil (M2). Results indicated that traps with methyl eugenol attracted 2,456 fruit flies, while traps with clove oil failed to capture any. There are three species identified, with the following proportions: Bactrocera dorsalis (81.6%), Bactrocera carambolae (11.4%), and Bactrocera umbrosa (7.0%). The highest absolute attack rate occurred at 108 days after planting (DAP) in the clove oil treatment (M2), with 260 plants affected, the lowest attack rate was recorded in the methyl eugenol treatment (M1) at 96 DAP with 95 attacked plants. Relative attack intensity was also highest in the clove oil group at 34.93% (medium category) and lowest in the methyl eugenol group at 19% (low category). The dominant species found in the area was Bactrocera dorsalis, although overall fruit fly distribution was not uniform, while the distribution of fruit flies in the area is uneven.