Monitoring Fruit Fly Using Different Lures in Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) Field in Nuwakot, Nepal

A study conducted in the watermelon field of Panchakanya Rural Municipality, Nuwakot district focused on monitoring of fruit fly species through methyl eugenol (ME) and cue lure (CL) with their different quantities from 10th of April to 21st of May, 2024 for six weeks till harvesting. This study extensively focused on effectiveness of different lures and their quantity used for the monitoring of different fruit fly species by using 1 liter plastic bottle as a trap in watermelon field. This study was designed by six treatments where lure types i.e. ME and CL was used with their quantity of 0.25 ml, 0.50 ml, and 1.00 ml with three replications. Out of total 597 fruit flies, ME traps captured 363 (61%) and 52 (9%) of Bactrocera dorsalis and B. zonata, whereas CL traps trapped 167 (28%) and 15 (2%) of Zeugodacus cucurbitae and Z. tau throughtout monitoring period. Result revealed that at Panchakanya during April to May on watermelon field Bactrocera genus were highly sensitive to ME and capured in massive numbers throughout the observation period, while Zeugodacus genus were sensitive to CL and trapped during fruit ripening stage. Through data analysis, 0.50 ml quantity trapped high number of fruit flies in overall population of species in both ME and CL traps on watermelon field at Nuwakot during April to May.