Attractiveness of Fruit Flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) to Eco-Enzyme and Tape Yeast Mixtures on Cayenne Pepper (Capsicum frutescens L.)

Abstract

Fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) are important pests of cayenne pepper that can reduce fruit quality and yield. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of eco-enzyme and ragi tape mixtures as attractants for fruit flies on cayenne pepper (Capsicum frutescens L.) cv. ORI 212. The experiment was conducted from February to July 2026 at the Experimental Field Faculty of Agriculture Lambung Mangkurat University Banjarbaru Indonesia. A completely randomized design was used with six treatments and four replications. The treatments consisted of methyl eugenol (P0), eco-enzyme and ragi tape mixtures at ratios of 1:1 (P1), 1:2 (P2) and 2:1 (P3), eco-enzyme alone (P4) and ragi tape plus sugar (P5). Data were subjected to analysis of variance followed by the least significant difference test at the 5% level. Methyl eugenol (P0) produced the highest mean fruit fly catch (39.46 flies) and the longest attractant longevity (6.75 days). Among the fermentation-based treatments, P3 showed the best overall performance with a mean catch of 32.39 flies, the lowest mean infestation intensity (17.90%) and the highest total fruit yield (394.25 g). Four fruit fly species were identified with Bactrocera dorsalis being the dominant species, accounting for 67.07% of the total catch. These findings indicate that the 2:1 eco-enzyme and ragi tape mixture has potential as a fermentation-based attractant for integration into fruit fly management in cayenne pepper production.