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PubMed1997

Correlated responses to selection for developmental period in Bactrocera cucurbitae (Diptera: Tephritidae): time of mating and daily activity rhythms.

Comparisons of "time of mating" (the time copulation begins) between lines selected for short and long developmental periods have been made in the melon fly, Bactrocera cucurbitae. These comparisons showed that longer development periods were associated with later initiation of mating. Crosses were also made between selected lines to ascertain the genetic basis of developmental period and time of mating. Comparisons of daily activity rhythms for four types of behavior (locomotion, preening, feeding, and wing vibration) between the selected lines showed the following; (1) locomotion and preening occurred in daytime for the short developmental period lines, versus mainly at night for the long developmental period lines; (2) feeding behavior occurred in daytime for both the short and the long developmental period lines; and (3) wing vibration, a component of courtship behavior of males, occurred at dusk for the short developmental period lines and at night for the long developmental period lines.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Circadian rhythm and time of mating in Bactrocera cucurbitae (Diptera: Tephritidae) selected for age at reproduction.

Chrono-biological traits were changed by selecting for life-history traits via a genetic linkage controlling both time-related behavioural and life-history traits. Behavioural traits were compared between lines selected for young (Y-lines) and old (O-lines) age at reproduction in the melon fly, Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett). Adults from O-lines, which survive longer than flies from Y-lines, mated later in the day and had a longer period of circadian rhythm in the locomotor activity than those from Y-lines. Flies from F(1) reciprocal crosses had an intermediate time of mating and periods of circadian rhythm between that of the parents, indicating a genetic basis to these traits. The presence of these behavioural differences across the selection lines indicates that chrono-biological traits exhibit correlated responses to selection on age at reproduction. The correlated responses in the behavioural traits to selection for life-history traits are discussed from two points of view: pleiotropy and inadvertent selection.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1997

Genetic trade-off between early fecundity and longevity in Bactrocera cucurbitae (Diptera: Tephritidae).

The response to selection on age at reproduction was measured to test for a genetic trade-off between early fecundity and longevity in the melon fly Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett). Three replicate lines were selected for propagation by breeding from young (Y-lines) and old (O-lines) adults, respectively. Selection was continued for 24 and 9 generations for Y- and O-lines, respectively. Females from O-lines lived longer than Y-line females as an indirect response to selection, indicating that longevity is a trait under genetic control. Females from Y-lines had higher fecundity early in the lifespan, a shorter preoviposition period, and a shorter prepeak fecundity period than females from O-lines. However, total fecundity did not differ between lines from the two selection regimes. These results suggest the existence of a genetic trade-off between early fecundity and longevity in the population examined, which may be controlled by pleiotropy. The larval period of the O-lines was longer than that of the Y-lines, whereas there were no significant effects of selection regime on egg hatchability or preadult survival rate. The trade-off relationship between early fecundity and longevity is discussed in relation to mass production of the melon fly for the sterile insect technique programme.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1966

A protein-protochlorophyll complex obtained from inner seed coats of Cucurbita pepo. The resolution of its two pigment groups into true protochlorophyll and a pigment related to bacterial protochlorophyll.

1. The inner seed coats of Cucurbita pepo were extracted with aqueous acetone and found to contain pigments with spectra similar to that of protochlorophyll. 2. When the fruits of C. pepo were stored the amount of protochlorophyll-like material in the inner seed coats increased and a form of protochlorophyll absorbing at longer wavelength was apparently formed. 3. The pigment was resolved into two forms of protochlorophyll by chromatography on sugar columns. One form with absorption maxima in ether at 432, 535, 571 and 623mmu was spectroscopically identical with plant protochlorophyll; the other, with absorption maxima at 438, 537, 574 and 624mmu, was spectroscopically identical with bacterial protochlorophyll isolated from the tan mutant of Rhodopseudomonas spheroides. The two phaeoporphyrins obtained from the seed-coat pigments closely resemble the corresponding phaeoporphyrin derivatives of plant protochlorophyll and bacterial protochlorophyll in spectroscopic and partition properties. 4. The pigment in the cells of inner seed coat of C. pepo is concentrated in discrete particles of about 1.7mu diameter. Extracts of the seed coats in a glycerol-glycine buffer were similar in spectroscopic properties to the crude protochlorophyll holochrome, but were not light-transformable. 5. After partial purification of the glycerol-glycine buffer extracts a pigment-protein complex was obtained with absorption maxima at considerably longer wavelengths than in organic solvents. 6. Preparations of the seed-coat protochlorophyll, in the presence of bovine serum albumin, adsorbed on filter paper or in colloidal solution, did not have absorption bands shifted so far to the red region as the natural protein complex isolated from the seed coat. 7. It is suggested that bacterial protochlorophyll (magnesium 2,4-divinylphaeoporphyrin a(5) methyl ester) is involved in the biosynthesis of chlorophyll in both plants and photosynthetic bacteria.

Chlorophyll↗
PubMed1970

Nitrite and hydroxylamine reduction in higher plants. Fractionation, electron donor and substrate specificity of leaf enzymes, principally from vegetable marrow (Cucurbita pepo L.).

Nitrite reductase was purified between 760- and 1300-fold from vegetable marrow (Cucurbita pepo L.) and residual hydroxylamine reductase activity was low or negligible by comparison. With ferredoxin as electron donor, nitrite loss and ammonia formation at pH7.5 were stoicheiometrically equivalent. Crude nitrite reductase preparations showed negligible activity with NADPH as electron donor maintained in the reduced state by glucose 6-phosphate, whereas by comparison, activity was high when either ferredoxin or benzyl viologen were also present and reduced by the NADPH-glucose 6-phosphate system, whereas FMNH(2) produced variable and relatively low activity under the same conditions. At pH values below 7, non-enzymic reactions occurred between reduced benzyl viologen and nitrite, and intermediate reduction products were inferred to be produced instead of ammonia. Activity with ferredoxin (0.1mm), reduced by chloroplast grana in the light, was 25 times that produced with ferredoxin (40mum) reduced with NADPH and glucose 6-phosphate. For an approximate molecular weight 61000-63000 derived by chromatography on Sephadex G-100 and G-200, and a specific activity of 46mumol of nitrite reduced/min per mg of protein with light and chloroplast grana, a minimum turnover number of 3x10(3)mol of nitrite reduced/min per mol of enzyme was found. Two hydroxylamine reductases were separated on Sephadex gels. One (HR1) was initially associated with nitrite reductase during gel filtration but disappeared during later fractionation. This HR1 fraction showed nearly comparable activity with reduced benzyl viologen, ferredoxin or FMNH(2). The other (HR2), of molecular weight approx. 35000, reacted with reduced benzyl viologen but showed negligible activity with ferredoxin or NADPH. Activity with FMNH(2) was associated with an irregular trailing boundary during gel filtration, with much diminished activity in the HR2 region. Activity with NADPH was about 30% of that with FMNH(2), reduced benzyl viologen or ferredoxin and was considered to reside in fraction HR1. Hydroxylamine yielded ammonia under all assay conditions. No activity with hyponitrite or sulphite was observed with reduced benzyl viologen as electron donor in either the nitrite reductase or the hydroxylamine reductase systems, but pyruvic oxime produced about 4% of the activity of hydroxylamine.

Benzene Derivatives↗
PubMed1986

Cucurbitacin delta 23-reductase from the fruit of Cucurbita maxima var. Green Hubbard. Physicochemical and fluorescence properties and enzyme-ligand interactions.

Cucurbitacin delta 23-reductase from Cucurbita maxima var. Green Hubbard fruit displays an apparent Mr of 32,000, a Stokes radius of 263 nm and a diffusion coefficient of 8.93 X 10(-7) cm2 X s-1. The enzyme appears to possess a homogeneous dimeric quaternary structure with a subunit Mr of 15,000. Two tryptophan and fourteen tyrosine residues per dimer were found. Emission spectral properties of the enzyme and fluorescence quenching by iodide indicate the tryptophan residues to be buried within the protein molecule. In the pH range 5-7, where no conformational changes were detected, protonation of a sterically related ionizable group with a pK of approx. 6.0 markedly influenced the fluorescence of the tryptophan residues. Protein fluorescence quenching was employed to determine the dissociation constants for binding of NADPH (Kd 17 microM), NADP+ (Kd 30 microM) and elaterinide (Kd 227 microM). Fluorescence energy transfer between the tryptophan residues and enzyme-bound NADPH was observed.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1988

Azide-binding studies reveal type 3 copper heterogeneity in ascorbate oxidase from the green zucchini squash (Cucurbita pepo).

Titration of native ascorbate oxidase from green zucchini squash (Cucurbita pepo) with azide in 0.1 M-phosphate buffer, pH 6.8, exhibits a biphasic spectral behaviour. Binding of the anion with 'high affinity' (K greater than 5000 M-1) produces a broad increase of absorption in the 400-500 nm region (delta epsilon approximately 1000 M-1.cm-1) and c.d. activity in the 300-450 nm region, whereas azide binding with 'low affinity' (K approximately 100 M-1) is characterized by an intense absorption band at 420 nm (delta epsilon = 6000 M-1.cm-1), corresponding to negative c.d. activity and a decrease of absorption at 330 nm (delta epsilon = -2000 M-1.cm-1). The high-affinity binding involves a minor fraction of the protein containing Type 3 copper in the reduced state, and the spectral features of this azide adduct can be eliminated by treatment of the native enzyme with small amounts of H2O2, followed by dialysis before azide addition. As shown by e.s.r. spectroscopy, Type 2 copper is involved in both types of binding, its signal being converted into that of a species with small hyperfine splitting constant [12 mT (approximately 120 G)] in the case of the low-affinity azide adduct. The spectral similarities of the two types of azide adducts with the corresponding adducts formed by native laccase, which also exhibits Type 3 copper heterogeneity, are discussed.

Ascorbate Oxidase↗
PubMed1996

Molecular cloning and characterization of a cDNA encoding the gibberellin biosynthetic enzyme ent-kaurene synthase B from pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima L.).

The first committed step in the formation of diterpenoids leading to gibberellin (GA) biosynthesis is the conversion of geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGDP) to ent-kaurene. ent-Kaurene synthase A (KSA) catalyzes the conversion of GGDP to copalyl diphosphate (CDP), which is subsequently converted to ent-kaurene by ent-kaurene synthase B (KSB). A full-length KSB cDNA was isolated from developing cotyledons in immature seeds of pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima L.). Degenerate oligonucleotide primers were designed from the amino acid sequences obtained from the purified protein to amplify a cDNA fragment, which was used for library screening. The isolated full-length cDNA was expressed in Escherichia coli as a fusion protein, which demonstrated the KSB activity to cyclize [3H]CDP to [3H]ent-kaurene. The KSB transcript was most abundant in growing tissues, but was detected in every organ in pumpkin seedlings. The deduced amino acid sequence shares significant homology with other terpene cyclases, including the conserved DDXXD motif, a putative divalent metal ion-diphosphate complex binding site. A putative transit peptide sequence that may target the translated product into the plastids is present in the N-terminal region.

Alkyl and Aryl Transferases↗
PubMed2000

Allergy caused by ingestion of zucchini (Cucurbita pepo): characterization of allergens and cross-reactivity to pollen and other foods.

BACKGROUND: Allergy to zucchini (Cucurbita pepo), a member of the Cucurbitaceae family, has not previously been reported. We examined 4 patients complaining of allergic symptoms, such as oral allergy syndrome, nausea, diarrhea, or pruritus, after the intake of zucchini. OBJECTIVE: After the confirmation of food allergy, we wanted to characterize zucchini allergens and examine possible cross-reactions to pollen and food. METHODS: The patients underwent skin prick and prick-to-prick-testing with different allergens, including zucchini, latex, and birch, ragweed, and grass pollen. Moreover a double-blind, placebo-controlled, food challenge was performed to confirm food allergy. Total and specific serum IgE levels were determined by using CAP-FEIA and the enzyme allergosorbent test method (EAST), respectively. Proteins from zucchini reacting with patient IgE were detected by means of immunoblotting. To characterize cross-reacting IgE antibodies, immunoblot- and EAST-inhibition assays were carried out. RESULTS: All patients in this study had positive reactions to zucchini both in prick-to-prick tests and double-blind, placebo-controlled, food challenges. Specific serum IgE levels to zucchini were found in all cases. In blot- and EAST-inhibition assays IgE from two patients revealed binding to zucchini profilin at about 15 kd. Furthermore, in two cases, including one of the profilin-positive patients, IgE directed against cross-reacting carbohydrate determinants was detected. For one patient, no cross-reacting IgE could be found, but IgE from this patient reacted strongly with a zucchini protein at 17 kd. CONCLUSIONS: We report the first 4 cases of food allergy to zucchini. Zucchini allergens can cause systemic reactions and are at least partially heat stable. We suggest that allergy to zucchini can occur as a result of primary sensitization to zucchini, as well as to cross-reactions to the panallergen profilin and cross-reacting carbohydrate determinants.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1986

Benzyl acetates as attractants for the male oriental fruit fly, Dacus dorsalis, and the male melon fly, Dacus cucurbitae.

Fifty compounds related to benzyl acetate were evaluated quantitatively as attractants to the male oriental fruit fly (Dacus dorsalis) and the male melon fly (Dacus cucurbitae). Thienylmethyl acetate was nearly as attractive as benzyl acetate to both species, but cyclohexylmethyl acetate was completely unattractive, emphasizing the role of the planar aromatic ring in receptor interaction. Although benzyl acetate was equally attractive to both species, para substituents invariably reduced attraction to the oriental fruit fly. A number of derivatives, including p-hydroxy-, p-methoxy-, p-acetoxy-, and p-cyanobenzyl acetates were highly attractive to the melon fly. Selective fluorination indicated that the polarizability of the carbonyl carbon is important in receptor interaction with the melon fly but is not specifically involved in the oriental fruit fly. Attraction to the melon fly was lost with ortho, meta, or dimethoxy substitution of benzyl acetate, but the 3,4- and 2,5-dimethoxybenzyl acetates were attractive to the oriental fruit fly. These results are interpreted in terms of specific olfactory receptor interactions for the two species of fruit flies.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1991

Two genes encoding 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase in zucchini (Cucurbita pepo) are clustered and similar but differentially regulated.

A 17-kilobase (kb) region of the zucchini (Cucurbita pepo) genome has been sequenced and contains two genes, CP-ACC1A and CP-ACC1B, encoding 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase (ACC synthase; S-adenosyl-L-methionine methylthioadenosine-lyase, EC 4.4.1.14). The genes are transcribed convergently and are separated by a 5.7-kb intergenic region. Their coding regions are interrupted by four introns located in identical positions. While the DNA identity in their coding regions is 97%, their 5' and 3' flanking regions are highly divergent. Transcription of CP-ACCIA is rapidly induced by wounding in fruit and etiolated hypocotyls and by indoleacetic acid (IAA)/benzyladenine/LiCl only in fruit tissue. Conditions that induce CP-ACC1B expression have not been found. Protein synthesis inhibition derepresses the expression of CP-ACC1A and other unidentified ACC synthase genes, suggesting that they may be under negative control. The amino acid sequences deduced from the nucleotide sequences of the genes are 493 and 494 residues long with 95% identity. The most notable feature of the amino acid sequence is the presence of 11 of the 12 invariant amino acid residues involved in the binding of the substrate and pyridoxal-5'-phosphate in various aminotransferases. We conclude that ACC synthase is encoded by a multigene family of which certain members are differentially induced by auxin in a tissue-specific manner. Furthermore, ACC synthase, a pyridoxal-containing enzyme, may have an evolutionary relationship with the superfamily of aminotransferases.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

Phloem sap proteins from Cucurbita maxima and Ricinus communis have the capacity to traffic cell to cell through plasmodesmata.

In angiosperms, the functional enucleate sieve tube system of the phloem appears to be maintained by the surrounding companion cells. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that polypeptides present within the phloem sap traffic cell to cell from the companion cells, where they are synthesized, into the sieve tube via plasmodesmata. Coinjection of fluorescently labeled dextrans along with size-fractionated Cucurbita maxima phloem proteins, ranging in size from 10 to 200 kDa, as well as injection of individual fluorescently labeled phloem proteins, provided unambiguous evidence that these proteins have the capacity to interact with mesophyll plasmodesmata in cucurbit cotyledons to induce an increase in size exclusion limit and traffic cell to cell. Plasmodesmal size exclusion limit increased to greater than 20 kDa, but less than 40 kDa, irrespective of the size of the injected protein, indicating that partial protein unfolding may be a requirement for transport. A threshold concentration in the 20-100 nM range was required for cell-to-cell transport indicating that phloem proteins have a high affinity for the mesophyll plasmodesmal binding site(s). Parallel experiments with glutaredoxin and cystatin, phloem sap proteins from Ricinus communis, established that these proteins can also traffic through cucurbit mesophyll plasmodesmata. These results are discussed in terms of the requirements for regulated protein trafficking between companion cells and the sieve tube system. As the threshold value for plasmodesmal transport of phloem sap proteins falls within the same range as many plant hormones, the possibility is discussed that some of these proteins may act as long-distance signaling molecules.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Characterization of cucurbita maxima phloem serpin-1 (CmPS-1). A developmentally regulated elastase inhibitor.

We report on the molecular, biochemical, and functional characterization of Cucurbita maxima phloem serpin-1 (CmPS-1), a novel 42-kDa serine proteinase inhibitor that is developmentally regulated and has anti-elastase properties. CmPS-1 was purified to near homogeneity from C. maxima (pumpkin) phloem exudate and, based on microsequence analysis, the cDNA encoding CmPS-1 was cloned. The association rate constant (k(a)) of phloem-purified and recombinant His(6)-tagged CmPS-1 for elastase was 3.5 +/- 1.6 x 10(5) and 2.7 +/- 0.4 x 10(5) m(-)(1) s(-)(1), respectively. The fraction of complex-forming CmPS-1, X(inh), was estimated at 79%. CmPS-1 displayed no detectable inhibitory properties against chymotrypsin, trypsin, or thrombin. The elastase cleavage sites within the reactive center loop of CmPS-1 were determined to be Val(347)-Gly(348) and Val(350)-Ser(351) with a 3:2 molar ratio. In vivo feeding assays conducted with the piercing-sucking aphid, Myzus persicae, established a close correlation between the developmentally regulated increase in CmPS-1 within the phloem sap and the reduced ability of these insects to survive and reproduce on C. maxima. However, in vitro feeding experiments, using purified phloem CmPS-1, failed to demonstrate a direct effect on aphid survival. Likely roles of this novel phloem serpin in defense against insects/pathogens are discussed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1968

P protein in the phloem of Cucurbita. I. The development of P-protein bodies.

Light and electron microscopical observations of the cells of the phloem of Cucurbita maxima have shown that two distinct types of P-protein bodies are formed: a larger type which arises as fine fibrils and a smaller type which apparently arises as groups of tubules. The tubules of the smaller type of body measure 242 +/- 3.6 (SE) A (n = 48) and appear morphologically identical with the P1-protein tubules of Nicotiana tabacum L. In some of these P1-protein bodies the tubules are arranged in a regular manner with a center-to-center distance of 295 A. The P protein of the larger type of P-protein body is first apparent in the cytoplasm as small aggregates of fine fibrils. This P-protein component has been designated P3 protein. As the P3 protein accumulates it is organized into large bodies. Some of these bodies contain only P3 protein, others a tubular form of protein, and still others a combination of P3 protein and a tubular form. This variability indicates that there is a developmental sequence of the formation of tubules from the P3-protein fibrils. These tubules measure 179 +/- 8.2 (SE) A (n = 31) and have been designated P4 protein.

Microscopy↗
PubMed1968

P protein in the phloem of Cucurbita. II. The P protein of mature sieve elements.

During maturation of sieve elements in Cucurbita maxima Duchesne, the P-protein bodies (slime bodies) usually disperse in the tonoplast-free cell. In some sieve elements the P-protein bodies fail to disperse. The occurrence of dispersal or nondispersal of P-protein bodies can be related to the position of the sieve elements in the stem or petiole. In the sieve elements within the vascular bundle the bodies normally disperse; in the extrafascicular sieve elements the bodies often fail to disperse. Extrafascicular sieve elements showing partial dispersal also occur. The appearance of the sieve plate in fixed material is related to the degree of dispersal or nondispersal of the P-protein bodies. In sieve elements in which complete dispersal occurs the sieve plate usually has a substantial deposit of callose, and the sieve-plate pores are filled with P protein. In sieve elements containing nondispersing P-protein bodies the sieve plate bears little or no callose, and its pores usually are essentially "open." The dispersed P-protein components may aggregate into loosely organized "strands," which sometimes extend vertically through the cell and continue through the sieve-plate pores; but they may be oriented otherwise in the cell, even transversely.

Histocytochemistry↗
PubMed2005

Structural reorganization of the copper binding site involving Thr15 of mavicyanin from Cucurbita pepo medullosa (zucchini) upon reduction.

Mavicyanin, a glycosylated protein isolated from Cucurbita pepo medullosa (zucchini), is a member of the phytocyanin subfamily containing one polypeptide chain of 109 amino residues and an unusual type-I Cu site in which the copper ligands are His45, Cys86, His91, and Gln96. The crystal structures of oxidized and reduced mavicyanin were determined at 1.6 and 1.9 A resolution, respectively. Mavicyanin has a core structure of seven polypeptide beta-strands arranged as a beta-sandwich organized into two beta-sheets, and the structure considerably resembles that of stellacyanin from cucumber (CST) or cucumber basic protein (CBP). A flexible region was not observed on superimpositioning of the oxidized and reduced mavicyanin structures. However, the Cu(II)-epsilon-O-Gln96 bond length was extended by 0.47 A, and the Thr15 residue was rotated by 60.0 degrees and O-gamma1-Thr15 moved from a distance of 4.78 to 2.58 A from the ligand Gln96 forming a new hydrogen bond between O-gamma1-Thr15 and epsilon-O-Gln96 upon reduction. The reorganization of copper coordination geometry of mavicyanin upon reduction arouses reduction potential decreased above pH 8 [Battistuzzi et al. (2001) J. Inorg. Biochem. 83, 223-227]. The rotation of Thr15 and the hydrogen bonding with the ligand Gln96 may constitute structural evidence of the decrease in the reduction potential at high pH.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Quiescent intense (qi): a gene that affects young but not mature fruit color intensity in Cucurbita pepo.

Jack O'Lantern, a cultivar of the pumpkin group of Cucurbita pepo that has intense-colored young fruits, was crossed with Vegetable Spaghetti, a cultivar of the vegetable marrow group that has light-colored young fruits and genotype d/d I-1/I-1 I-2/I-2. The F1 plants, regardless of the direction of the cross, had light-colored young fruits. Young fruit color was observed to segregate in accordance with a 3 intense: 13 light ratio in the F2, indicating that two genes, one dominant and one recessive, are interacting. By crossing Jack O'Lantern with tester stocks of known genotypes, the dominant gene was identified as L-2. The recessive gene, previously undescribed, is herein designated quiescent intense (qi), as it intensifies young fruit color but was observed to have little or no effect on intermediate-age and mature fruit colors. The young fruits of Verte Non-Coureuse D'Italie, a cultivar of the cocozelle group, are intense-colored. F1 plants of the cross between this cultivar and Jack O'Lantern had intense-colored young fruits, but F1 plants of the cross between this cultivar and Vegetable Spaghetti had light-colored young fruits. Therefore both Verte Non-Coureuse D'Italie and Jack O'Lantern are qi/qi, while Vegetable Spaghetti is Qi/Qi.

Color↗
PubMed2005

The melon fruit fly, Bactrocera cucurbitae: a review of its biology and management.

The melon fruit fly, Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett) (Diptera: Tephritidae) is distributed widely in temperate, tropical, and sub-tropical regions of the world. It has been reported to damage 81 host plants and is a major pest of cucurbitaceous vegetables, particularly the bitter gourd (Momordica charantia), muskmelon (Cucumis melo), snap melon (C. melo var. momordica), and snake gourd (Trichosanthes anguina). The extent of losses vary between 30 to 100%, depending on the cucurbit species and the season. Its abundance increases when the temperatures fall below 32 degrees C, and the relative humidity ranges between 60 to 70%. It prefers to infest young, green, soft-skinned fruits. It inserts the eggs 2 to 4 mm deep in the fruit tissues, and the maggots feed inside the fruit. Pupation occurs in the soil at 0.5 to 15 cm below the soil surface. Keeping in view the importance of the pest and crop, melon fruit fly management could be done using local area management and wide area management. The melon fruit fly can successfully be managed over a local area by bagging fruits, field sanitation, protein baits, cue-lure traps, growing fruit fly-resistant genotypes, augmentation of biocontrol agents, and soft insecticides. The wide area management program involves the coordination of different characteristics of an insect eradication program (including local area options) over an entire area within a defensible perimeter, and subsequently protected against reinvasion by quarantine controls. Although, the sterile insect technique has been successfully used in wide area approaches, this approach needs to use more sophisticated and powerful technologies in eradication programs such as insect transgenesis and geographical information systems, which could be deployed over a wide area. Various other options for the management of fruit fly are also discussed in relation to their bio-efficacy and economics for effective management of this pest.

Animals↗