New quarantine cold treatment for medfly <i>Ceratitis capitata</i> (Diptera: Tephritidae) in pomegranates

Abstract The medfly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae), is one of the most important agricultural pests worldwide due to its impact on harvest and market restrictions for host fruits in several countries. Pomegranates ( Punica granatum [L.]; Lythraceae) are sensitive to chilling injuries caused by existing quarantine cold treatments. This study aimed to establish a new cold-treatment schedule at 5 °C for fresh pomegranates by determining the required exposure time to mitigate C. capitata in the pomegranate ‘Wonderful’ variety. The third-instar larva was deemed the most cold-tolerant instar and was used for this study. The combination of 5.2 °C for 36 days achieved 100 % mortality.