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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Peoria, Illinois » National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research » Crop Bioprotection Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #127978
Title: PHEROMONE-MEDIATED MASS TRAPPING AND POPULATION DIVERSION AS STRATEGIES FORSUPPRESSING CARPOPHILUS SPP. (COLEOPTERA: NITIDULIDAE) IN AUSTRAILIAN STONEFRUIT ORCHARDS

Author
item JAMES, DAVID - WASH ST UNIV PROSSER,WA
item VOGELE, BEVERLEY - YANCO AGRI INST NS WALES
item FAULDER, RICHARD - YANCO AGRI INST NS WALES
item Bartelt, Robert
item MOORE, CHRISTOPHER - ANIMAL RES INST AUSTRAILI

Submitted to: Agricultural and Forest Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/1/2001
Publication Date: 3/1/2001
Citation: JAMES, D.G., VOGELE, B., FAULDER, R.J., BARTELT, R.J., MOORE, C.J. PHEROMONE-MEDIATED MASS TRAPPING AND POPULATION DIVERSION AS STRATEGIES FORSUPPRESSING CARPOPHILUS SPP. (COLEOPTERA: NITIDULIDAE) IN AUSTRAILIAN STONEFRUIT ORCHARDS. AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST ENTOMOLOGY. 2001. v. 3. p. 41-47.

Interpretive Summary: Nitidulid, or sap, beetles are significant pests of ripening fruits and other crops, and this is particularly true for peaches and other stone fruits in Australia. The beetles cause damage both by direct feeding and by bringing in fruit-degrading microorganisms. Aggregation pheromones (natural chemicals emitted by male sap beetles to attract other adults of both sexes) were previously identified at NCAUR for a number of sap beetle species, and these have promise as a method for protecting crops from beetle damage. In this study, the synthetic pheromone was used to bait traps placed around the perimeter of a peach orchard or was added to large drums of insecticide-treated, decomposing fruit placed at one end of the orchard. In both cases, the intent was to attract and remove the flying beetles so that they could not cause crop damage. Both approaches were successful in minimizing crop damage for distances up to 300-500 meters from the pheromone sources. The pheromonal approach to beetle management appears to be a realistic option, although future research is still needed to optimize the method.

Technical Abstract: Five experiments were conducted during 1995-99 in stone fruit orchards on the Central Coast and in inland New South Wales, Australia, on the use of synthetic aggregation pheromones and a coattractant to suppress populations of the ripening fruit pests Carpophilus spp. (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae). Perimeter-based suppression traps baited with pheromone and coattractant placed at 3-m intervals around small fruit blocks, caught large numbers of Carpophilus spp. Very small populations of Carpophilus spp. occurred within blocks, and fruit damage was minimal. Carpophilus spp. populations in stone fruit blocks 15-370 m from suppression traps were also small and non-damaging, indicating a large zone of pheromone attractivity. Pheromone/coattractant- baited suppression traps appeared to divert Carpophilus spp. from nearby (130 m) ripening stone fruit. Ten metal drums containing decomposing fruit, baited with pheromone and treated with insecticide, attracted Carpophilus spp. and appeared to reduce populations and damage to ripening fruit at distances of 200-500 m. Populations and damage were significantly greater within 200 m of the drums and may have been caused by ineffective poisoning or poor quality/overcrowding of fruit resources in the drums. Pheromone-mediated diversion of beetle populations from ripening fruit may be more practical than perimeter trapping, but more research is needed on the effective range of Carpophilus pheromones and the relative merits of trapping compared to attraction to insecticide-treated areas.