The effect of adding compost to soil media on the pupation of Bactrocera spp.

This study aims to determine effect of compost addition on Bactrocera spp. pupation in soil media at various soil depth levels. Two types of pupation media were used as treatments, viz. control treatment using sterile soil and the compost treatment of sterile soil mixed with compost. Tests were conducted at eight levels of soil depth, namely 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, and 70 cm with four repetitions of each treatment. Observations were made for 14 days by observing the development of imago and pupal mortality of Bactrocera spp. The results showed that at low depth levels of 0-20 cm, fruit flies could still thrive despite high abnormality rates. At an intermediate depth of 30-50 cm, survival was lower. At the high depth level of 60-70 cm, no pupae were found as they successfully developed into imago during the observation. The addition of compost can thus improve the soil structure of pupation media so that development occurs faster.