This research aimed to evaluate the efficiency of hydrothermal treatment in the control of C. capitata larvae in tangerine fruit for quarantine safety. Tangerines fruits infested by larvae of Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata were submitted to hydrothermal treatment at 46±1ºC and 50±1ºC for different exposure times. The fruits were selected in two maturity stages (ripe and semi-ripe) and immersed in hot water. For temperature at 46±1ºC, nine exposure times were used: 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 minutes. The same procedure was used for temperature at 50±1ºC, where the exposure times were: 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 minutes. Infested fruits immersed in hot water were evaluated aiming to quantify the total of live and dead larvae, with one group was kept as control and not immersed. Quarantine safety using treatment with hot water at 46±1ºC was reached at 32.0 and 35.3 minutes for ripe and semi-ripe fruits, respectively. At 50±1ºC, quarantine safety was reached at 20.8 and 21.7 minutes for ripe and semi-ripe fruits, respectively. C . capitata mortality increased with the rise in temperature and exposure time.
fruit flies; quarantine treatment; probit analysis; ripe fruit; semi-ripe fruit
