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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Gainesville, Florida » Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology » Chemistry Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #295372
Title: Development of kairomone based control programs for cocoa pod borer

Author
item Teal, Peter
item Alborn, Hans
item Epsky, Nancy
item Kendra, Paul
item Niogret, Jerome

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/3/2013
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The Cocoa Pod Borer moth presents a unique opportunity to develop host volatile attractants for control strategies for the following reasons. First, knowing what volatiles are critical for host finding by females will allow for development of mass trapping and/or attract and kill strategies to control the pest. Second, removal of egg-laying females from the population has a much higher impact on population reduction than does removal of males. Third, Cocoa is not the original host of the pod borer and as such volatiles from pods that attract females only mimic the volatiles released by the native hosts (Rambutan, Fijian Longan) and thus it is likely that volatiles from the native hosts are far more attractive. Here we discusses approaches we have taken to identify kairomones form other plant-host complexes and how kairomones have been to development of monitoring and control programs for these pest species.