Bakengesa, J.,  Kabota, S.,  De Meyer, M.,  Kudra, A.,  Mwatawala, M.,  Majubwa, R. & Virgilio, M. 2026. ‘No one-size-fits-all: dominant pests and context shape agroecological outcomes against cucurbit fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae)’. Crop Protection 107763. ISSN: 02612194. DOI: 10.1016/j.cropro.2026.107763. URL: https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0261219426002292  I.F. 3.3.

Article in a scientific Journal / Article in a Journal

ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Agroecology Family farming Cucurbitaceae Diptera: Tephritidae Zeugodacus cucurbitae Seasonality Landscape ABSTRACT Agroecological pest management is promoted as an alternative to synthetic pesticides, but its effectiveness may depend on the dominant pest species, crop and local environmental context. We compared cucurbit-infesting fruit fly communities between SAT agroecological and conventional family farms in Morogoro, Tanzania, across plateau and mountainous zones, three cucurbit crops and four cropping seasons. Fruits of cucumber (Cucumis sativus), watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) and squash (Cucurbita moschata) were sampled at marketable maturity, incubated for adult emergence, and analysed for infestation rate and tephritid community structure. The assemblage was strongly dominated by Zeugodacus cucurbitae, with secondary contributions from Dacus vertebratus, Dacus ciliatus and Dacus bivittatus. Crop identity strongly shaped infestation patterns: Z. cucurbitae was mainly associated with C. sativus, D. vertebratus with C. lanatus, and D. ciliatus and D. bivittatus with C. moschata. Management effects were context dependent. Overall infestation and Z. cucurbitae infestation were higher under agroecological management in the mountainous zone, whereas no consistent management difference occurred in the plateau zone. These findings show that agroecological outcomes against cucurbit fruit flies are not uniform, but depend on pest identity, crop, zone and season. Locally adapted monitoring and fruit fly-targeted practices are therefore needed to improve agroecological pest management in smallholder cucurbit systems. 1.