Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck is an important economic product in South China, but the presence of quarantine pests in this product proposes the potential threat to international trade security. To find a proper phytosanitary cold treatment for Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae), commonly called oriental fruit fly, one of the most serious quarantine insects in navel orange, eggs in petri dish and larvae in navel orange fruits were exposed to a 1.7 °C cold chamber for 0–11 days to compare the tolerance to cold treatment. The 2nd instar larva (4 days) is the most tolerant stage, and the estimated time for 99.9968% mortality at the 95% confidence level is 11.3 (9.5, 14.6) days. Then 15 days was selected as the target time for the confirmatory tests, resulting in no survivors from 37,792 treated larvae with the efficacy of 99.9921% mortality at the 95% confidence level. The quality assessments were conducted to compare the effect on the navel orange fruit between cold treatment and the conventional cold storage. Results indicated that the cold treatment did not negatively affect the fruit quality. Therefore, this cold treatment showed potential as a commercial quarantine treatment for navel orange in international trade.
The spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura), is currently distributed in the main soft-skinned fruits production areas in China and 59 other countries, presenting a significant threat to importing nations. Optimal phytosanitary treatments, including fumigation, irradiation, and cold treatment, have been developed to prevent the international movement of this invasive fly. To determine the most cold-tolerant stage and facilitate the development of the technical schedules requested by the Technical Panel on Phytosanitary Treatment (TPPT), cold treatments of D. suzukii immature stages in ‘Red Globe’ grapes were conducted. Dose–mortality data at 0 °C and 2 °C from repeated trials were subjected to analysis of covariance, linear regression, and probit analysis. Results identified 3 d old pupae as the most cold-tolerant stage, followed by 1 d old pupae, 4 d old larvae, and 6 h old eggs with similar tolerance. The 2 d old larvae were the most sensitive stage. In subsequent confirmatory tests, 3 d old pupae were subjected to cold treatment at 0 °C for 9 and 10 days, and at 2 °C for 10 and 12 days, based on the probit estimation of the probit-9 value. No adult emergence occurred in the confirmatory tests except for one deformed adult from a 2 °C 10 d treatment. Therefore, the recommended treatment schedule requires fruit temperatures below 0.00 °C (or 1.62 °C) for no less than 10 (or 12) continuous days, with treatment efficacy not less than 99.9960% (or 99.9955%) at a 95% confidence level, respectively. These schedules are intended for submission to TPPT for the development of phytosanitary treatment standards.