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Title: Pink bollworm moth (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) catches in the Imperial Valley, California from 1989 to 2003

Author
item CHU, CHANG CHI
item NATWICK, ERIC - UC COOP EXT HOLTVILLE
item LOPEZ, RAUL - IMP CTY AG COMM CA
item DESSERT, JOELENE - IMP CTY AG COMM CA
item HENNEBERRY, THOMAS

Submitted to: Insect Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/9/2006
Publication Date: 12/1/2006
Citation: Chu, C., Natwick, E.T., Lopez, R.L., Dessert, J.R., Henneberry, T.J. 2006. Pink bollworm moth (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) catches in the Imperial Valley, California from 1989 to 2003. Insect Science 13: 469-475.

Interpretive Summary: The male pink bollworm moth populations in the Imperial Valley, California were monitored for 15 years from 1989 to 2003 using gossyplure-baited non-overloading traps. Trap catches showed 1) yearly catches varied from 81 male moth per trap per year in 1994 to 5,262 in 1997, 2) about 96% of the male moth caught each year were during the four month period from August to November, and 3) traps placed along the border between Calexico, CA and Mexicali, Mexico caught more male moths compared with traps placed at other locations. Reasons of the variations were explained by the use of short-season cotton system and Bt cottons, and 4-23 times more cotton acreages in Mexicali Valley compared with Imperial Valley. The short-season cotton system was discontinued from 2000 to present because of the reduction of pink bollworm by Bt cottons . We proposed to re-introduce the short-season cotton system for the reduction of pink bollworm in the 5% refugia required for the Bt cotton production.

Technical Abstract: We examined the patterns of adult male pink bollworm (PBW) Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders), moth catches in gossyplure-baited traps over a 15-year period from 1989 to 2003 in the Imperial Valley, California. Monitoring was conducted during periods when different PBW areawide control strategies were being used. A short-season cotton system was initiated in 1989 that mandated cotton planting after 1 March, use of a defoliant or plant growth regulator treatment by 1 September, and plowdown of shredded cotton stalks by 1 November. Numbers of male PBW moths caught in gossyplure-baited non-over-loading traps (1.25 liter by volume) progressively decreased each year from 1990 to 1994 and increased for 1995, 1996 and 1997 even though the mandate for short-season cotton system remained in force. Transgenic (Bt) Bollgard' (Monsanto Co., St. Louis, Mo) cotton was planted in 1996 in 3% of the cotton area and thereafter in 80 to 93% of the cotton area from 1997 to 2003. PBW moth trap catches decreased in 1998 to 2000 under short-season cotton and Bt cotton production practices. Short-season cotton production regulations were discontinued in 2000. From 2000 to 2003 with trap catches declined when Bt cotton was the only PBW suppression measure practiced. The short-season cotton system is a proven effective strategy that is compatible with Bt cotton in PBW management programs in the Imperial Valley. It should be evaluated for its contribution to Bt resistance management and re-introduced into the valley to reduce numbers of overwintering diapause PBW larvae in the non-Bt cotton refugia area as suggested by Carrière et al. (2001).