Investigation of population density Mediterranean fruit fly [ Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) ]in citrus and pomegranate gardens in Antalya Finike

Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata which is a polyphagous species, is a most destructive pest on many hosts such as oranges, grapefruit, mandarin, pomegranatein Turkey. AMS is also an important external quarantine pest. Finike towns with important citrus and pomegranate producing region in Turkey has been chosen as the study area. In this study, the population density of AMS in citrus and pomegranate orchards in Finike district in 2018-2019 was investigated. The study was carried out in six different citrus (orange, grapefruit and mandarin) orchards and two different pomegranate orchards in Finike district of Antalya. In the designated gardens, samples were made with a total of sixteen pheromone monitoring traps, two of which were placed in each garden. The first observations for the studies started in 2018 and continued in 2019 with the same methods. In addition to the amount of AMS, spilled fruits were counted due to these pests. According to the data obtained at the end of the study, the AMS population density reached the highest level in August in grapefruit orchard and in September in other orchards. While 70-80 individuals were determined during the peak periods in citrus orchards, the average number of individuals remained around 15-20 in pomegranate orchards. The number of damaged fruits did not exceed 1% in all orchards in 2018, and no damaged fruits were found in 2019 as of the date of completion of the study. Keywords: Mediterranean fruit fly, Altintop grapefruit, Ceratitis capitata, Washington orange, Hicaz pomegranate, Population density, Satsuma mandarin