Author
|
Submitted to: Annual Cumberland Shenandoah Fruit Workers Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings Publication Acceptance Date: 4/30/2004 Publication Date: 5/31/2004 Citation: Leskey, T.C. 2004. Assessing individual components of a monitoring system for plum curculio. Annual Cumberland Shenandoah Fruit Workers Conference. Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: The plum curculio (PC), Conotrachelus nenuphar is a major pest of both apples and peaches in the mid-Atlantic region. Currently, although a great deal of effort has been directed toward development of an effective monitoring system for this pest, there is still no reliable method. In order to identify strengths and weaknesses associated with available monitoring technology for plum curculio, each component of such a system must be evaluated independently of the others. These components include: (1) synthetic baits deployed in association with monitoring traps; (2) visual cues provided by particular traps; (3) capture mechanism of particular trap styles; and (4) deployment strategy, i.e., where and when the trap is installed. Therefore, we evaluated the following components in separate experiments in 2003: (1) plum curculio response to known and novel olfactory cues or baits; (2) plum curculio response to visual cues provided by pyramid and cylinder traps; and (3) effectiveness of capture mechanism of eight different trap styles. For odor baits tested, greatest numbers of PCs were captured in traps baited with a novel 6-component whole tree blend in combination with grandisoic acid, the male-produced aggregation pheromone, and with benzaldehyde dispensers that included the additive trichlorobenzene in combination with grandisoic acid. Among baited pyramid and cylinder traps, there were no significant differences among traps providing black, green, clear or enhanced visual cues. However, when baits were removed, there was a significant difference among cylinder traps, with significantly fewer captures in clear cylinders compared to black or black- enhanced cylinders. This trend, though not significant, was evident for unbaited pyramid traps as well. Standard pyramid and circle/screen traps were significantly better than any other trap type in terms of their trapping mechanism likely because these traps exploit major points of entry of plum curculio in or near host fruit trees prior to entering the canopy. These results point toward the possibility that improved baits and trapping mechanisms can lead to a more effective monitoring system for plum curculio. |
