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November 2001. Niue is considering importing mangoes from Cook Islands without heat treatment and asked about the risks. Here were the answers:
Mangoes from Cook Islands would expose Niue to infestation of Bactrocera melanotus, a species endemic to Cook Islands. The country already has three fruit flies, and it was thought that it might not want a fourth. B melanotus, attacks several crops including: Carica papaya, Citrus sp., Inocarpus fagifer, Mangifera indica, Persea americana, Psidium guajava, Syzygium malaccense, Terminalia catappa. It’s entry would jeoprise the export of fruit from Niue at a later time.
For more information on host range of this fruit fly species, consult:
http://www.spc.int/pacifly/Species_profiles/B_melanotus_hosts.htm
Niue should also consider that importations might spread the mango seed weevil, which is not yet present in Niue. (Note, its presence in Cook Islands was questioned). Further, a search of CABI Crop Protection Compendium indicates that the following are potential quarantine pests of mango:
Aleurodicus dispersus (whitefly)
Bactrocera melanotus
Ceroplastes ceriferus (Indian wax scale)
Ferrisia virgata (striped mealybug)
Heliothrips haemorrhoidalis (black tea thrips)
However, all except B melanotus would be able to be seen by inspection.
The mangoes should be subject to a quarantine treatment such as Forced Hot Air. The treatment may consist of raising the fruit centre temperature to 47.2°C and holding the fruits at that temperature for 20 minutes before hydro-cooling. There is a very workable quarantine pathway and treatment protocol for mangoes available from Fiji Islands, which could be used as a framework for importation of mangoes into Niue. The risk of introducing Bactrocera melanotus in untreated mangoes would be quite high.
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