1Division of Fruits and Horticultural Technology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi-110 012 (India).
2Division of Entomology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi-110 012 (India).
3Department of Horticulture, Marathwada Agricultural University, Parbhani, MS, (India).
Thirty varieties of ber (Zizyphus mauritiana Lamk.) were screened for varietal resistance against the ber fruitfly, Carpomyia vesuviana Costa, during 1989–90 and 1990–91. Regular observations to record the fruit infestation were continued till harvesting. The cultivars were categorised into different grades of susceptibility considering the per cent fruits damaged on the basis of number and weight. The categories were:immune-0, highly resistant 1–10, resistant 11–20, moderately resistant 21–30, moderately susceptible 31–40, susceptible 41–50, and highly susceptible > 50 per cent. None of the cultivars was immune to ber fruitfly. However, Tikdi and Illaichi were graded highly resistant in both the years. The other cultivars, viz., Umran, Tas Bataso, Deshi Alwar, Kishmis, were resistant or moderately resistant. The fruits of cultivars with high infestation and graded highly susceptible included Akhrota, Bagwadi, Gola, Katha Rajasthan, Dandan, Sea and Laddu.
