Assessment of Ozone Gas Efficiency on the Biological Aspects of the Fig Moth Ephestia cautella on Zahdi Date

Al-Saadi, Th.A.M. and F.B. Hermize. 2022. Assessment of Ozone Gas Efficiency on the Biological Aspects of the Fig Moth Ephestia cautella on Zahdi Date. Arab Journal of Plant Protection, 40(3): 240-246. https://doi.org/10.22268/AJPP40.3.240246 This study aimed to assess the efficiency of ozone gas in controlling the different stages of the fig moth Ephestia cautella (Pyralidae: Lepidoptera) (eggs, larvae, pupa, adults) that infect dates in storage. Four gas exposure periods (30, 60, 90, 120 minutes) were evaluated and the mortality rate of the different insect stages increased with increase in the exposure time. The mortality rate of insect adults reached 100% after an exposure period of 120 minutes, whereas the mortality rate of insect pupa was 66.66%. The mortality rate of larvae reached 100% following an exposure period to ozone gas of 120 minutes and five days after exposure. The study also showed that exposure of eggs to 120 minutes of ozone gas led to an inhibition of egg hatching rate of 37.47%, whereas the lowest insect eggs inhibition rate following 30 minutes 245 Arab J. Pl. Prot. Vol. 40, No. 3 (2022) exposure to ozone gas was 16.66%. The study also showed that the adults of Ephestia cautella were most affected when treated with ozone gas followed by larvae, whereas pupa and eggs were the least affected when treated with ozone gas. Keywords: fig moth, Ephestia cautella, Zahdi date, ozone gas.