John Marti F. Maghopoy (March 2010)
Abstract
Mangoes are one of the most important tropical fruits in the Philippines; however cultivating mangoes isn’t easy considering the pests these fruits harbour which includes the mango fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis), the mango pulp weevil (Sternochetus frigidus), and mango seed weevil (Sternochetus mangiferae). Knowing the abundance of these pests in locations like Alimodian, Iloilo is important for they can guide mango cultivators in choosing preventatives needed. This research study determines the abundance of each pest infestation in mangoes from Alimodian, Iloilo that were sold in Iloilo City on the month of November. Mangoes were collected from the group of mangoes from Alimodian that were labeled “rejected”, were placed in a container, and were then left to rot and then dissected to know the type of pest larvae that contained each mango. The samples were collected on November 2009 in Iloilo Supermarket. A total number of 44 mango fruits out of the approximately 200 rotten or infested were sampled. It was then found out that were 79.55% of mangoes with mango fruit fly infestation, pulp weevil with 11.36^ and seed weevil with 4.54% which is only minimal compared to fruit flies. Therefore, mango cultivators in Alimodian should focus more of their pest prevention methods on the fruit flies and less priority on mango and pulp weevils during the months of November