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Methyl bromide (MB) use for quarantine and phytosanitary purposes is being phased out. Several effective MB alternatives have been identified depending on the target system. Industry commitment for the shift to new technologies will depend not only on the efficacy of alternatives but also on their compatibility and integrability into existing operations. We compared the efficacy of MB and ethyl formate (EF) for disinfestation of Planococcus citri (Risso) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) as a representative surface pest on banana and evaluated whether EF fumigation is compatible with the current packaging materials and loading ratio used by the South Korean banana import industry. Fumigation trials with P. citri adults and eggs showed that EF was at least as effective as MB at the EF and MB concentrations recommended under the current phytosanitary disinfestation guidelines. From a logistical standpoint, EF gas could not effectively penetrate plastic bagging typically used in banana cartons during commercial shipping. Also, EF sorption to bananas and packing materials (used as cushioning inside bagging) further lowered realized EF concentrations around bananas. These reductions in EF concentration translated into reduced mortality of P. citri eggs, indicating that despite similar efficacy of MB and EF for controlling P. citri, further consideration and optimization of other industry logistics such as packaging and loading ratio is necessary to enhance the adoption of this MB alternative.

Number of male gypsy moths, Lymantria dispar (L.), captured each day in U.S. Department of Agriculture pheromone-baited milk-carton traps declined as the traps filled. Field tests of traps with screen false bottoms showed that the decline was due in part to the reduced volume inside the trap. Presumably, moths that entered partially filled traps located entrance holes more easily and escaped before succumbing to the insecticide. Additional tests showed that presence of decomposing moths further suppressed catch, but that dried or fresh moths or an inert substrate (styrofoam chips mixed with activated charcoal) below a screen false bottom had no such effect.

Two types of lemons and oranges were fumigated with ethylene dibromide (EDB): unpacked and unwaxed fruits in wooden picking boxes (bulk-treated) and commercially waxed and packed fruits in fiberboard cartons (packed-treated). By bulk-treating citrus fruits and eliminating the highly sorptive fiberboard carton material, the dosage of EDB applied was reduced by 43% (from 14 g/m3 to 8 g/m3) without reducing the exposure of the commodity to the fumigant. Residual EDB was found mostly in the peel; relatively little was found in the pulp. Initial levels of residual EDB were higher in lemons than in oranges and higher in bulk-treated than in packed-treated fruits. Although not significant, desorption of EDB from fumigated citrus was faster from the peel than from the pulp, and faster from oranges than from lemons. However, the rate of desorption of EDB was significantly faster from bulk-treated, unwaxed fruits than from packed-treated, waxed fruits. The rate of desorption was also significantly faster from fruits stored at 18°C than from those stored at 6°C.

The minimal dose of ethylene dibromide (EOB) needed to obtain 99.997% mortality of eggs and larvae of Dacus dorsalis Hendel in papayas, Carica papaya L., varied with the concentration of EDB in the fumigation chamber, the type and number of containers, and the fumigation temperature. The effect of container type on the EDB concentration after 0.5 h of fumigation was increased adsorption of EDB in the following order: perforated polyethylene tray < painted wooden field box < wooden field box ≤ fiberboard carton. Hot water treatments to control anthracnose of papaya improved the efficacy of EDB fumigation and reduced EDB residues more as a postfumigation treatment than prefumigation treatment. The quarantine treatment developed for oriental fruit fly-infested papayas in perforated polyethylene trays was fumigation with 7 g EDB/m3 for 2 h at 21.1°C and loading of 46% (by volume). The EDB residues in such fumigated papayas after 1-, 3-, and 5-day storage in cartons at 12.8°C were 2.1±0.12, 0.6±0.05, and 0.4±0.07 ppm, respectively. When similarly treated fruits were hot water-treated for 20 min at 46.1°C after the fumigation, the residues, at similar times and storage, were 1.8±0.2, 0.5±0.05, and 0.1 ±0.02 ppm. The quarantine treatment developed for fruits in wooden field boxes was fumigation with 8 g EDB/m3 for 2 h at 21.1°C plus postfumigation hot water treatment at 60.6°c for 20 sec. For such fruits stored 1 and 3 days in cartons at 20.0°-25.6°C (ambient temperature), the EDB residues were 0.4±0.04 and 0.05 ppm to trace, respectively; after 1, 3, and 5 days of storage at 7.2°C, the residues were 2.1±0.13, 0.7±0.06, and 0.3±0.02 ppm, respectively.

A sampling method that uses dichlorvos squares (1.2 cm2) in paper ice cream cartons (0.95 liter) was developed to evaluate nymphal populations of Empoasca fabae (Harris) on alfalfa. Samples collected in the field and placed in the ice cream carton were quickly handled in the laboratory, and nymphs collected in the lid of the carton were easily sorted and counted under a stereomicroscope. In laboratory tests, this method was shown to be greater than 90% efficient in extracting nymphs from alfalfa. The sample unit was a 3-stem bouquet per carton with a 24-h exposure period. In field trials, the dichlorvos-carton method was more effective in determining nymphal abundance than a sweep net, a D-Vac® suction collector, a drop trap method, a shake pan method, or direct observation.

Experiments have demonstrated that fish meal is a food highly satisfactory to larvae of the webbing clothes moth. Insects reared on this material went through their life cycles in a surprisingly short time. With fish meal as the only food supply, a method has been developed for rearing large numbers of clothes moths in gallon sized cardboard cartons.

Fresh mangoes and grapefruit infested with eggs and larvae of the Mexican fruit fly, Anastrepha ludens (Loew), were fumigated in fiberboard cartons by adding ethylene dibromide (EDB) to the cartons before sealing. Dosage-mortality lines were obtained for infested fruits in a standard 7/10-bushel telescopic cirtrus carton, with and without inside walls waxed, and a flap-top carton. Mortalities were high regardless of type of carton. Dosages of 16 to 24 oz./1,000 cu. ft. killed nearly all living forms in heavily infested grapefruit or mangoes at room temperature (74° F.). Mortality increased as the period during which the cartons were sealed increased up to about 24 hours. At dosages of 24 or 32 oz./1,000 cu. ft., temperatures of 50°,74° (room), and 90° F. did not appear to affect mortality in heavily infested grapefruit. EDB residues in grapefruit, always less than 10 p.p.m. of inorganic bromide, were greatest after treatment at 50°F. and least at 90° F. Grapefruit was not injured when allowed to remain in closed citrus cartons for 2 weeks after fumigations.

Hypera brunneipennis (Boheman) adults were successfully extracted from sample trash with a simple ice cream carton extraction device and 4-methylpentaone-2. The efficiency of this technique was equal to that obtained with a Berlese funnel. Maximum extraction with the carton technique was attained in 30 min, compared with 24 h with a Berlese funnel.

The dosages of methyl bromide required to give 99.9968% kill (probit 9) of Anastrepha suspensa (Loew) infestations in grapefruit at 21°–24°C were calculated (probit analysis) to be 40 mg/liter for a 3 carton load (20% capacity) and 56 mg/liter for a 12 carton load (80% capacity) fumigated in 0.8-m3 chambers. These dosages produced no visible injury in the fruit.

Minimum doses of 20.6 and 32.9 krad of cobalt-60 S-radiation eliminated ca. 1200 eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults of Cryptorhynchus mangiferae (F.) from mangoes, Mangifera indica L., in corrugated fiberboard cartons with absorber thicknesses of 2.56 and 4.27 g/cm2, respectively. Since the opposite sides of each carton were irradiated, the absorber thickness was the product of the density of the carton and the mid-distance from the irradiated sides of the carton (6.5 cm for A-type and 8.0 cm for B-type). Also, the few irradiated adults that were found alive 6 months after treatment with 20.6 krad at absorber thicknesses of 3.20 and 3.97 g/cm2 were sterile and shortlived. Longevity of irradiated adults decreased inversely logarithmically with the dose, so the expected mean longevities were ca. 3.5 and 2.2 months for doses of 20.6 and 32.9 krad, respectively.

An insulated container that utilizes liquid urethane foam molded between plastic cartons was designed to hold adult Stomoxys calcitrans (L.) for irradiation. The flies were knocked down by cold and placed in the container which kept them cold and immobilized during irradiation. The container also was designed to hold the flies in the most consistent dose area of the irradiator. The sterility of irradiated males was 4.8% higher with this container than with other containers used under the same conditions.