Ambiente protegido com tela sombrite como alternativa para controle de mosca-das-frutas em ameixeiras da cultivar Fortune

Abstract

Fruit fly is the main pest of plum trees. This study aimed to evaluate the production and damage caused by fruit fly in protected cultivated plum with screen, unprotected and conventional with insecticide. Nine Fortune plum plants were used: three control plants (without screen and without insecticide); three plants wrapped laterally by sombrite 70% screen with 5 m of high; and three plants with conventional management (insecticide). The experiment was installed at beginning of the vegetative cycle. The production per treatment, fruit size, flesh firmness, soluble solids-SS, titratable acidity-TA and damaged fruits and/or with larvae of fruit fly were evaluated. The insecticide and screen treatments showed greater fruit size and firmness of pulp compared to the control. The treatments with insecticide, screen and control presented 2%, 17% 44% of the production dropped on the ground. In the fruits harvested on the plant, the insecticide, screen and control treatments showed 10%, 25% and 90% of the fruits damaged by fruit fly. The SS was lower in the treatment with screen. TA of fruits of the control treatment was lower compared to the other treatments. The use of screen is a sustainable alternative to reduce the damage by fruit fly in plums.