Eugenia stipitata McVaugh ( Myrtaceae ) : food resource for frugivorous lies in the state of Amapá , Brazil

This work was carried out to evaluate the infestation of fruits of Eugenia stipitata McVaugh (Myrtaceae) by fruit lies in the state of Amapá, Brazil. There was 95% infestation of the green and ripe fruits. However, infestation (puparia/fruit) was higher in ripe fruits than green fruits. Four species of Tephritidae and four species of Lonchaeidae were obtained. Bactrocera carambolae (Tephritidae) predominated in ripe fruits. There was no difference in infestation by Anastrepha spp. (Tephritidae) and Neosilba spp. (Lonchaeidae) between green and ripe fruits.


Eugenia stipitata
McVaugh is a Myrtaceae plant native to the Peruvian Amazon, being found in the wild in practically the entire region (PINEDO et al., 1981).It is shrub-sized and quite branched and has dense foliage and dark-green coloration (FERREIRA; RIBEIRO, 2006).The small inlorescences have three to ten hermaphrodite lowers, with white petals and 75 to 100 stamens (McVAUGH, 1956).The fruit is a berry, which varies from 30 to 800 g (average weight of 200 g) and exudes a pleasant aroma when ripe, and the pericarp is yellow, velvety and ine.The pulp is juicy and used in the preparation of soft drinks, juices, jams, creams, jellies and sweets, where it is rarely eaten raw due to its acidity.The seeds are of variable size, with 3 to 20 per fruit (CALZADA, 1980;FALCÃO et al., 1988;CAVALCANTE, 1991).
Despite the economic potential of the species, commercial cultivation is still little explored due to the organoleptic characteristics of the fruits and production rates, a fact that can be attributed to the limited knowledge of fruit utilization and management techniques (FERREIRA; GENTIL, 1999).
There is little information in the literature on insects associated with E. stipitata.However, it is known that frugivorous lies (Diptera: Tephritidae and Lonchaeidae) often infest fruits of this species (LEMOS et al., 2015;ADAIME et al., 2016a).To date, three species of Anastrepha have been recorded infesting E. stipitata in Amapá: Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann), A. obliqua (Macquart) and A. striata Schiner (ADAIME et al., 2016b).In addition, this plant species was recently reported to be a host of the carambola fruit ly (Bactrocera carambolae Drew & Hancock) for the irst time in Brazil, in the state of Amapá (LEMOS et al., 2014).It is an exotic species that entered Brazil along the border with French Guiana in 1996.It is considered a quarantine pest in Brazil, with the potential to have a great socioeconomic and environmental impact if it spreads to other regions (SILVA et al., 2004).Currently, it is restricted to the states of Amapá and Roraima, under oficial surveillance through the National Carambola Fruit Fly Eradication Program (PNEMC) (GODOY et al., 2011;BRASIL, 2013).This work was carried out to evaluate the infestation of E. stipitata fruits (in two stages of maturation) by frugivorous lies (Diptera: Tephritidae and Lonchaeidae).
The experimental area is located in the Matapi Agricultural Colony (00º36'13.8"N-51º27'10.8"W), in the municipality of Porto Grande, state of Amapá, in the North region of Brazil.The rural property had approximately 1,200 E. stipitata plants (4 years old), maintained without any phytosanitary treatment.On June 8, 2013, 60 green fruits and 60 mature fruits were randomly collected from E. stipitata, directly from the plants.The stage of maturation of the fruits was determined visually, where green fruits had this color and were already developed in size and ripe fruits were completely yellow.The fruits were individually weighed and placed in plastic jars (14.0 cm in diameter x 9.5 cm in height) containing a thin layer of sterilized sand, covered with organza fabric and a vented lid.The fruits were transported to Macapá, where they were stored in an airy room at ambient temperature.Five green and ive ripe fruits were randomly collected to measure sugar concentration (ºBrix) with the aid of a portable digital refractometer.
The lasks containing the fruits were examined every seven days (for 28 days) for removal of the puparia.The puparia obtained from the same fruit were placed in the same plastic bottle (6.5 cm in diameter) containing a thin layer of moist vermiculite.The emerged adults were stored in 70% ethanol for later identiication.The insects were identiied on the basis of keys of Zucchi (2000), Strikis (2011) and Zucchi et al. (2011).The Tephritidae specimens were deposited at the Embrapa Amapá Plant Protection Laboratory and the Lonchaeidae were incorporated into the work collection of the taxonomist Dr. Pedro Carlos Strikis.
The non-parametric Mann-Whitney test (α = 0.05) was used to evaluate the possible difference in fruit ly infestation between green and ripe fruits, carried out with the Bioestat 5.0 program (AYRES et al., 2007).
The weight of collected fruits totaled 8.06 kg for green fruits and 10.01 kg for ripe fruits.The sugar concentration (ºBrix) was 3.76 for green fruits and 4.60 for ripe fruits.Infestation by fruit lies was 95% in the green and ripe fruits, resulting in 1,676 puparia.Infestation was higher in ripe fruits (16.89 puparia/fruit) carambolae were obtained from 57.9% of the green fruits and 71.9% of the ripe fruits.This higher infestation in ripe fruits was possibly due to the fact that these fruits had been exposed for more time in the ield, increasing the possibility of infestation.However, there is a need for preference studies of B. carambolae oviposition in the maturation stages of E. stipitata fruits to clarify this issue.
The predominance of A. obliqua was evident (Table 2).Although it is a polyphagous species, with a preference for Myrtaceae (ZUCCHI, 2008), its predominance can be explained by the fact that the E. stipitata orchard studied is surrounded by cultivated Spondias mombin L. (Anacardiaceae), a species designated as a preferred host of A. obliqua in Amapá (DEUS; ADAIME, 2013).At the date of collection of the fruits of E. stipitata, S. mombin were not in fruit.Thus, fruits of E. stipitata were available as alternative hosts for A. obliqua.
In comparing green and ripe fruits, it was found that A. striata and N. pseudozadolicha occurred only in green fruits and in reduced numbers (Table 2).However, this result contributes to the discussion of the fruit infestation process by Lonchaeidae, since fruits infested exclusively by N. pseudozadolicha were found, demonstrating the ability of this species to oviposit on fruits without oviposition perforations made by tephritids.The status of Lonchaeidae species as agricultural pests was discussed by Santos et al. (2004).Recent research in the state of Amapá conirms that some species of this family are primary invaders of fruits (LEMOS et al., 2015;ALMEIDA et al., 2016;ADAIME et al., 2017).
Fruits infested only by B. carambolae corresponded to 10.5% of the green fruits and 8.8% of the ripe fruits.Fruits infested only by Anastrepha spp.corresponded to 22.8% of the green fruits and 12.3% of the ripe ones.Fruits infested only by Lonchaeidae corresponded to 3.5% of the green fruits and 1.7% of the ripe ones.On the other hand, 24.5% of the green fruits and 40.3% of the ripe fruits were infested simultaneously by B. carambolae, Anastrepha and Neosilba.
On the basis of the sampling of green and ripe fruits of E. stipitata, we conclude that: 1) this species is a good food resource for the larvae of frugivorous lies; 2) B. carambolae predominates in ripe fruits; 3) there is no difference in infestation by Anastrepha spp.and Neosilba spp. between green and ripe fruits; and 4) fruits are shared by B. carambolae, Anastrepha spp.and Neosilba spp.Also, considering the number of specimens of B. carambolae, A. obliqua and N. zadolicha obtained from green and mature fruits of E. stipitata, we suggest conducting further surveys to assess the potential damage from these species.
* % IF = percentage of infested fruits; ** Means followed by different letters in a column differ signiicantly by the Mann-Whitney test.