Insects (Nov 2021)

Efficacy and Phytotoxicity Assessment of Successive Application of Methyl Bromide and Cold Treatment on Export Strawberry Fruits

  • Bong-Su Kim,
  • Ji-Eun Choi,
  • Deuk-Soo Choi,
  • Jeong-Oh Yang

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12110990
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 11
p. 990

Abstract

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Recently, spotted wing Drosophila, Drosophila suzukii, is globally prevalent and causes agricultural losses to many fruits. To export Korean strawberry, methyl bromide fumigation is required to remove D. suzukii infestations, but Korean strawberry farmers are worried about fruit damage because methyl bromide can cause phytotoxicity on fresh commodities. In this report, we assessed the efficacy and phytotoxicity of single and successive application of methyl bromide and cold treatment on an export variety of strawberry to reduce fruit damage. The currently recommended dosage of methyl bromide, 40 g/m3 for 3 h at 18 °C, was enough to control all stages of D. suzukii without phytotoxicity. A dosage of 20 g/m3 of methyl bromide treatment for 3 h, followed by 1 d of cold (0 °C) treatment, showed 100% mortality in all growth stages of D. suzukii without fruit damage. Successive application of methyl bromide and cold treatment shows potential as a method of decreasing phytotoxicity and reducing the use of methyl bromide for environmental considerations.

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