Costa Rica: Guava and jocote, susceptible to the fruit fly

Besides monitoring the fruit fly in horticultural products for export, the National Fruit Fly Program (PNMF) of the State Phytosanitary Service, of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), also monitors the national crops, which provide support for low-income families, through the Extension Agencies of said Ministry.

The jocote and guava, which aren't grown in large areas (as their initial purpose was provide shade for coffee crops, were planted as fences, or can be found scattered manner in the wild) have become an important source of income for families. However, they are not exempt from the attack of the fruit fly of the genus Anastrepha, warned Arturo Saborio, head of the PNMF.

The PNMF, in coordination with the MAG, has been conducting Integrated Management strategies to reduce the populations of Anastrepha oblique, the main plague of the jocote fruit, in the area of Aserri, which is the largest producer of this fruit in the country (approximately 2,500 tons of fruit). This plague begins reproducing with the first harvest of wild mango. As its population increases it moves to the jocote causing great losses for producers, as one fly alone can lay 600 to 800 eggs in a 22-day cycle. 

Several communities from Suiza de Turrialba, which have been working to produce guava pulp to make jellies, are concerned as the guava's main pest is the Anastrepha striata, another fly specie. The scattered distribution of guava trees in paddock areas makes control of the fruit fly more difficult. However, the PNMF, in collaboration with the MAG of Turrialba and the APPAG (Association of small producers of guayaba), will initiate a pest control program, mainly with biological control and traps to diminish the pest population and increase the fruit's quality. The region produces around 690 tons of guava pulp per year.

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Pilar Jimenez Quiros

Press SFE