Risk Assessment of Ozone Fumigation Under Vacuum to Control Potential Infestation of Coffee Berry Borer and Coffee Leaf Rust in Green Coffee Beans Imported Into Hawaii.

Studies were conducted with ozone gas fumigation under vacuum as a methyl bromide alternative against life stages of coffee berry borer (CBB) Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), and the urediniospores of coffee leaf rust (CLR), Hemileia vastatrix Berkeley & Broome (Basidiomycota: Pucciniales) in green coffee, Coffea spp. L. Fumigation with 10,000 ppm O3 gas under -25.4 mm Hg vacuum1 at 13.0 ± 3.0°C for 6.0 h killed all CBB larvae, pupae, and adults, but did not kill all CBB eggs (~15% survival). Mortality of CLR urediniospores was 100% within the first hour of the 6-h fumigation. Ozone fumigation had no adverse effects on coffee quality. Results indicated that CBB adult hitchhikers may be the only target life stage of quarantine concern, and additional studies focused on this stage. CBB adult survival and reproduction decreased significantly at moisture contents ≤20%, and F1 generation survival did not occur in green coffee at moisture contents ≤15%. As the international standard for green coffee moisture content is 9-12%, adult CBB should not survive or reproduce in exported dry green coffee. Standard industry processing of harvested coffee cherries to the green coffee stage using either mechanical- or sun-drying eliminated CBB infestations from the field. A systems approach is recommended for exporting green coffee to control CBB and CLR that includes eliminating CBB life stages with standard processing methods, reducing moisture content to 9-12% to prevent egg deposition, survival or reproduction, and O3 fumigation to ensure quarantine security against potential CBB adult hitchhikers.

Large-scale, on-site confirmatory, and varietal testing of a methyl bromide quarantine treatment to control codling moth (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in nectarines exported to Japan.

In total, 30,491 codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.), 1-d-old eggs on May Grand nectarines in two large-scale tests, and 17,410 eggs on Royal Giant nectarines in four on-site confirmatory tests were controlled with 100% mortality after fumigation with a methyl bromide quarantine treatment (48 g3 for 2 h at > or = 21 degrees C and 50% volume chamber load) on fruit in shipping containers for export to Japan. Ranges (mean +/- SEM) were for percentage sorption 34.7 +/- 6.2 to 46.5 +/- 2.5, and for concentration multiplied by time products 54.3 +/- 0.9 to 74.5 +/- 0.6 g.h/m3 in all tests. In large-scale tests with May Grand nectarines, inorganic bromide residues 48 h after fumigation ranged from 6.8 +/- 0.7 to 6.9 +/- 0.5 ppm, which were below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency tolerance of 20 ppm; and, organic bromide residues were < 0.01 ppm after 1 d and < 0.001 ppm after 3 d in storage at 0-1 degree C. After completion of larger-scale and on-site confirmatory test requirements, fumigation of 10 nectarine cultivars in shipping containers for export to Japan was approved in 1995. Comparison of LD50s developed for methyl bromide on 1-d-old codling moth eggs on May Grand and Summer Grand nectarines in 1997 versus those developed for nine cultivars in the previous 11 yr showed no significant differences in codling moth response among the cultivars.

Dose-morality and large-scale studies for controlling codling moth (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) eggs on 'd'Agen' plums by using methyl bromide.

Codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.), eggs on 'd'Agen' cultivar of plums, Prunus salicina Lindl., were treated with methyl bromide to determine if a quarantine treatment could be developed so that the plums could be exported to Japan from the United States. Small-scale tests consisted of treating codling moth eggs on plums with various doses of methyl bromide at 20 degrees C for 2 h. Small-scale tests showed that 0- to 24-h-old eggs of codling moth on the plums were controlled by doses > 22.5 g/m3. Because testing showed that 48 g/m3 had no adverse effect on the quality of plums, this dose was chosen for large-scale testing to establish the quarantine dose. Large-scale tests consisted of treating plums at 18.5 degrees C for 2 h using methyl bromide at a dose of 48 mg/liter. Large-scale tests showed that the dose of 48 g/m3 killed all 0- to 24-h-old codling moth eggs exposed on plums in packing cartons without affecting the quality of the plums.