Sex pheromone of cocoa pod borer, Conopomorpha cramerella: field activity evaluation of pheromone formulations in Indonesia plantation

Authors: NIOGRET, JEROME - Mars Australia; EKAYANTI, ARNI - Mars, Inc; Zhang, Aijun

Submitted to: Insects
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/18/2022
Publication Date: 7/22/2022
Citation: Niogret, J., Ekayanti, A., Zhang, A. 2022. Sex pheromone of cocoa pod borer, Conopomorpha cramerella: field activity evaluation of pheromone formulations in Indonesia plantation. Insects. 13(8):663. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects13080663.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/insects13080663

Interpretive Summary: The cocoa pod borer (CPB) is the major insect pest for cocoa pods in Southeastern Asia and has caused significantly economic damage for cocoa production. The management of the CPB has relied almost exclusively on pesticide applications, which are neither environmentally sustainable nor economically effective. Although the sex attractant of CPB has previously been identified, it has not been widely used by farmers for CPB infestation detection and population monitoring. To help farmers for timely implementing CPB infestation intervention and reducing unnecessary pesticide application, two commercially available CPB attractant dispensers were evaluated and compared with the dispenser made in our lab (USDA dispenser) for activity and longevity in Indonesia cocoa plantation. We demonstrated that the USDA dispenser with low attractant dose exhibited four weeks longevity, while commercial dispenser with high attractant dose (10X) showed twenty-seven weeks longevity. Therefore, the USDA dispenser with low dose and low cost is good for CPB infestation detection while commercially available lure with high dose and higher cost is suitable for population monitoring. This long-life commercial attractant dispenser can be particularly used by growers to monitor CPB population density in large-scale cocoa farms with reduced labor cost.

Technical Abstract: The previously identified female sex pheromone of cocoa pod borer (CPB), Conopomorpha cramerella (Snellen) (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae), was re-evaluated for male attraction using three different pheromone formulations in Indonesian cocoa plantation. During the first four weeks trapping period, The USDA lures containing 0.1 mg of synthetic pheromone blend exhibited significantly better attraction than the commercial lure obtained from Alpha Scents, Inc. with the same pheromone loading (0.1 mg). Although the 1.0 mg lure did not show any higher attraction than the USDA 0.1 mg lure during the first month, it was significantly attractive for CPB males with the same weekly average capture efficacy for the whole twenty-seven weeks period in field condition in 2018. A long-life pheromone lure can be particularly useful in monitoring large-scale cocoa farms.