Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fort Pierce, Florida » U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory » Subtropical Insects and Horticulture Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #305447

Title: Area-wide mating disruption of a major citrus pest using an off-ratio blend

Author
item Lapointe, Stephen

Submitted to: Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/15/2014
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The leafminer Phyllocnistis citrella (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) is a global pest of citrus and contributes to the incidence and severity of citrus bacterial canker disease. Results of response surface models generated by mixture-amount experiments suggested that an off-ratio blend consisting of the major pheromone component (Z,Z,E)-7,11,13-hexadecatrienal was the principal driver responsible for mating disruption in small plot field trials. Further field trials demonstrated that the single component was equal to or better than the “natural” 3:1 blend of (Z,Z,E)-7,11,13-hexadecatrienal: (Z,Z)-7,11 hexadecadienal. A commercial release device (DCEPT CLM™, ISCA Technologies Inc., Riverside, CA, USA) showed exceptional longevity in field trials in 2012 and 2013. Approximately 1,000 hectares (~400,000 trees) at three locations in southeastern and southwestern Florida were treated during the spring of 2014 with a subsidy for early adopters provided through an agreement with the Citrus Research and Development Foundation in collaboration with ISCA Technologies, USDA-ARS and the University of Florida. Contrasting sites of 350 to 500 ha were chosen to examine the effect of immigration of gravid females from outside of the pheromone-treated areas. Results will be presented to examine the biological and economic value of an area-wide approach to this environmentally benign biological approach to control of a major leafminer pest and associated canker disease.