author(s)
S Vignesh, M Chandrasekaran, V Ambethgar and S Jeeva

abstract
Guava, Psidium guajava Linn. is well suited for cultivation under tropical and subtropical climatic conditions with the capability of withstanding adverse situation in various types of soil. In India, the total area under guava is 2.65 lakhs ha with the annual production of 4.05 million tons. The productivity of the guava fruit is mainly ravaged by various insect pests, among them the fruit flies, Bactrocera spp. are found to be the major devastating insect pest that causes extensive damage in the guava fruits and make it inconsumable and unmarketable. The variations in the abiotic factors are playing a vital role on the species complex and its population dynamics. The documentation on the population dynamics of fruit fly in guava and mango ecosystem provides both opportunities and challenges for planning and preceding the timely management practices. Keeping this in mind, this experiment was conducted to understand and explore the species complex and seasonal fluctuation of fruit fly in the guava ecosystem. The trap catches of fruit flies were taxonomically identified and categorized at species level. The observations made throughout the experimental period shown the prevalence of two species of fruit fly viz., B. dorsalis (Hendel) and B. correcta (Bezzi) in the guava orchards. The population dynamics of fruit flies expressed that, the peak incidence (110 no. /trap) in the month of August and the least trapping population of fruit fly activity (7.00 no. /trap) in the month of February. The activity of fruit flies was very minimum (10 no. /trap) in the guava ecosystem in December, January and February months of every year. In addition, the fruit flies activity was more in summer when compared with the seasons with high relative humidity and rainfall. The correlation analysis results revealed that, the Bactrocera spp. incidence is positively correlated with maximum, minimum temperature and negatively correlated with morning, evening relative humidity (RH) and rainfall.