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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Parlier, California » San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center » Commodity Protection and Quality Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #273544
Title: Effect of mating disruption and lure load on the number of Plodia interpunctella males captured in pheromone traps

Author
item Burks, Charles - Chuck
item Kuenen, Lodewyk

Submitted to: Journal of Stored Products Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/8/2012
Publication Date: 4/1/2012
Citation: Burks, C.S., Kuenen, L.P. 2012. Effect of mating disruption and lure load on the number of Plodia interpunctella males captured in pheromone traps. Journal of Stored Products Research. 49:189-195.

Interpretive Summary: Mating disruption with female sex pheromone offers a least-toxic, worker-friendly alternative to fumigation and fogging for control of Indianmeal moth, an important postharvest pest. Commercial formulations are available for control of this pest with mating disruption, but loss of information from pheromone monitoring traps is a barrier to wider adoption of this technology. Using Indianmeal moth males released under controlled conditions, we found that, in either the presence or absence of a commercial mating disruption dispenser, the number of males captured in traps baited with synthetic pheromone lures increase with doses of up to 30× the amount of pheromone in commercial monitoring lures. We also found that, in the presence of mating disruption, more males are captured in synthetic pheromone lures than in traps baited with females as a pheromone source. Characterization of pheromone trap results in the presence of a known abundance of males will increase confidence in pheromone traps results in the presence of mating disruption treatments and increase adoption of this technology.

Technical Abstract: Using Indianmeal moth Plodia interpunctella (Hübner) males released under controlled conditions, we found that, in either the presence or absence of a commercial mating disruption dispensers, the number of males captured in traps baited with synthetic pheromone lures increased with doses of up to 30 mg per lure (compared to 1-2 mg used in commercial monitoring lures). More males were captured in traps baited with synthetic pheromone lures than in traps baited with females as a pheromone source. The proportion of males captured in traps baited with synthetic pheromone lures and traps with females as a pheromone source changed with male age, but not with exposure to mating disruption dispensers. Male interaction with mating disruption dispensers was observed, and suppression of males captured in female-baited traps was quickly lost when mating disruption dispensers were removed. Implications of these findings for monitoring and semiochemical control of P. interpunctella are discussed.