Field efficacy of pea leaf weevil aggregation pheromone combined with contact insecticide as an attract and kill method, 2020

Authors: KIJU, PRAGYA - Montana State University; WANNER, KEVIN - Montana State University; Reddy, Gadi V.P.

Submitted to: Arthropod Management Tests
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/2/2022
Publication Date: 4/29/2022
Citation: Kiju, P., Wanner, K.W., Reddy, G.V. 2022. Field efficacy of pea leaf weevil aggregation pheromone combined with contact insecticide as an attract and kill method, 2020. Arthropod Management Tests. https://doi.org/10.1093/amt/tsac053.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/amt/tsac053

Interpretive Summary: The attractant, pea leaf weevil (PLW) aggregation pheromone as plastic pellet and rubber septa formulations. DeltaGard G Insecticide Granules were used as a contact insecticide.The objective of this field experiment was to assess and demonstrate the potential of an attract-and-kill strategy as a new PLW management tactic to reduce pest pressure using adult aggregation pheromone.Six treatments were placed in the bottom of these simple pit fall traps: 1) one pheromone pellet plus insecticide; 2) three pheromone pellets plus insecticide; 3) five pheromone pellets plus insecticide; 4) one pheromone rubber septum plus insecticide; 5) one pheromone rubber septum and no insecticide; and 6) insecticide only. Treatments with insecticide received 0.3 gram of DeltaGard G Insecticide Granules. Results from this preliminary study have demonstrated the potential of PLW aggregation pheromone as an attract-and-kill method under field conditions. Future research is needed to determine optimal field application methods to dispense the pheromone attractant and insecticide treatments for suppression of adult populations below economically damaging levels. Combining attract-and-kill and push-pull strategies to concentrate adult PLW populations migrating into emerging field pea crops can be effective in managing the PLW.

Technical Abstract: A field experiment was conducted to assess the efficacy of an aggregation pheromone combined with a contact insecticide as an attract-and-kill method to reduce adult pea leaf weevil (PLW) populations. The attractant, PLW aggregation pheromone (4–methyal-3,5-heptanedione), was provided by ChemTica International (Heredia Province, Santo Domingo, Costa Rica), as plastic pellet and rubber septa formulations. DeltaGard G Insecticide Granules (0.1% deltamethrin) were used as a contact insecticide.The objective of this field experiment was to assess and demonstrate the potential of an attract-and-kill strategy as a new PLW management tactic to reduce pest pressure using adult aggregation pheromone.Six treatments were placed in the bottom of these simple pit fall traps: 1) one pheromone pellet plus insecticide; 2) three pheromone pellets plus insecticide; 3) five pheromone pellets plus insecticide; 4) one pheromone rubber septum plus insecticide; 5) one pheromone rubber septum and no insecticide; and 6) insecticide only. Treatments with insecticide received 0.3 gram of DeltaGard G Insecticide Granules. Treatments were replicated four times in a Complete Randomized Block Design (CRBD) during the 2020 field season. Results from this preliminary study have demonstrated the potential of PLW aggregation pheromone as an attract-and-kill method under field conditions. Future research is needed to determine optimal field application methods to dispense the pheromone attractant and insecticide treatments for suppression of adult populations below economically damaging levels. Combining attract-and-kill and push-pull strategies to concentrate adult PLW populations migrating into emerging field pea crops may be an effective approach.