Turkey
is the biggest dried apricot producer and exporter of the world. Carpoglyphus lactis (L.) (Astigmata:
Carpoglyphidae) is the most common species
on dried apricots. When C. lactis
feeds on the fruit sugar of the dried apricot, the mite accelerates the
development of mould fungi and causes
unwanted flavours and odours, due to its digestive products, secretions and
dead bodies. These contaminants cause skin diseases and some disorders of the
digestive system in humans. Fumigants such as methyl bromide and phosphine are
used for the control of this harmful species all over the world. However,
methyl bromide has been restricted in many countries including Turkey, because
the chemical depletes ozone layer and causes acute deaths in humans. Biological
studies have shown that reducing the amounts both of oxygen and humidity
negatively affects the population development of C. lactis. Based on this evidence, the effects of different
physical agents, namely ferric oxide and ozone gas (oxygen depleters), and
calcium chloride and silica gel (humidity reducers) to packaged dried apricot
infested with C. lactis were studied.
The lethal dose concentrations and lethal times of each product were determined
by probit analysis. In this study, the female mites were successful controlled
with all of the physical agents. A death rate of the females of 99% was most
rapidly obtained with ozone gas treatment, followed by ferric oxide. Ozone gas
was particularly toxic, causing a significantly high level of mortality after
application at 44.4 mg/L (LT99= 39 hours). When ferric oxide was
applied a dose of 9000 mg/L volume and higher doses, it killed all the female
mites within 3 days. Above the dose of calcium chloride at 3000 mg /L killed
all of the females within 81 hours. Lastly, the silica gel affected mites over
a longer period i.e., two weeks and at a higher dosage (56000 mg/L volume).
Primary Language | English |
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Subjects | Agricultural Engineering |
Journal Section | Research Article |
Authors | |
Publication Date | July 31, 2019 |
Published in Issue | Year 2019 Volume: 1 Issue: 2 |
Acarological Studies is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International.
International Scientific Research Journal on Acarology