Development of a combined cold storage and methyl bromide fumigation treatment to control the American serpentine leaf miner Liriomyza trifolii (Diptera:Agromyzidae) in imported chrysanthemum cuttings

Individual chrysanthemum cuttings and leaves infested with eggs and larvae of the alien leaf miner Liriomyza trifolii, and batches of pupae, were treated in the laboratory to find an effective quarantine treatment to control the pest in imported cuttings. The laboratory tests were based on a statutory quarantine treatment of 2 days' cold storage at 1–2°C followed by methyl bromide fumigation at 15°C with a concentration time product (CTP) of 54 g h/m³, which is used to control Spodoptera littoralis on imported chrysanthemum cuttings. Treatments of 2 days' storage at 1–2°C followed by methyl bromide fumigation at 15°C with a range of CTPs were used to obtain accurate dose-response lines and estimate the LD99 and LD99 9 for each stage of L. trifolii. The largest estimates of the LD99 for eggs, larvae and pupae up to 3 days old were 40·04, 34·49 and 42·64g h/m³ respectively. These results indicate that the Spodoptera treatment should give high levels of kill of most stages of L. trifolii. However, the LD99 values for pupae more than 3 days old were greater than those for eggs, larvae and young pupae. Therefore if this treatment were adopted as a quarantine measure against L. trifolii, good prophylactic treatments and rigorous pre-packing inspections in exporting countries would need to be maintained, to minimise any risk of importing pupae. It would also be necessary to ensure that the temperature of the imported cuttings was raised uniformly to 15°C after cold storage and prior to fumigation. The practicality of the technique as a commercial treatment will depend on whether it is possible to achieve this without causing unacceptable phytotoxicity.