The olive is one of the most important crops of the Mediterranean region. Ninety-eight percent of the world’s olive production occurs in this region. However, pest control is a major concern of olive growers, and the olive fruit fly is one of the major economic pests. | Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry Turk J Agric For (2018) 42: 453-458 © TÜBİTAK doi: Research Article Occurrence, damage, and population dynamics of the olive fruit fly (Bactrocera oleae Gmelin) in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus 1, 1 2 Murat HELVACI * , Mehmet AKTAŞ , Özge ÖZDEN Department of Horticultural Production and Marketing, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technologies, European University of Lefke, Lefke, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus 2 Department of Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, Near East University, Lefkoşa, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus 1 Received: Accepted/Published Online: Final Version: Abstract: The olive is one of the most important crops of the Mediterranean region. Ninety-eight percent of the world’s olive production occurs in this region. However, pest control is a major concern of olive growers, and the olive fruit fly is one of the major economic pests. The aim of this research was to observe their population, infestation rates, and effect on the quality of olive oil. This research included 14 olive groves within 2 different locations. To determine the population dynamics of adult olive fruit flies, 6 yellow sticky traps were placed haphazardly within the tree canopies (approximately m in height) of each olive grove between the months of July and December during 2015 and 2016. Results showed that the infestation rate decreases when relative humidity increases (Pearson correlation: –; P = ). On the other hand, negative weak correlation was observed between the altitude and infestation rate (Pearson correlation: –; P = ). Interestingly, positive moderate correlation was determined between average temperature and infestation rate (Pearson correlation: +; P = ). As expected, positive moderate to high correlation (Pearson correlation: +; P = ) was
