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Title: BOLL WEEVIL TRAP CAPTURES AS A FUNCTION OF DISTANCE FROM BRUSH LINES

Author
item Spurgeon, Dale
item Anderson, Roger

Submitted to: National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/3/2006
Publication Date: 6/12/2006
Citation: Spurgeon, D.W., Anderson, R.M. 2006. Boll weevil trap captures as a function of distance from brush lines. In: Proceedings of the Beltwide Cotton Conferences, January 3-6, 2006, San Antonio, Texas. 2006 CDROM.

Interpretive Summary: Programs to eradicate the boll weevil rely heavily on pheromone traps for population monitoring and detection. Therefore, changes in protocols that improve trapping effectiveness would contribute to eradication efforts. We previously observed that association of traps with prominent vegetation resulted in increased weevil captures. However, the distances over which these effects occur are unknown. In field studies we found that average weekly captures of weevils by traps closely associated with brush (0 m, 18.4 weevils) were about twice those of traps at 10 m (9.7 weevils) or 20 m (9.6 weevils) from the brush lines. These results suggest that trap effectiveness may be enhanced if traps are closely associated with prominent vegetative features when they are available.

Technical Abstract: Programs to eradicate the boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis Boheman) rely heavily on pheromone traps for population monitoring and detection. Therefore, changes in protocols that improve trapping effectiveness would contribute to eradication efforts. We previously observed that association of traps with prominent vegetation resulted in increased weevil captures. However, the distances over which these effects occur are unknown. We examined the influence of trap distance from brush lines on captures in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Each experimental replication (six traps) included traps established at 0, 10, and 20 m from both upwind and downwind edges of a brush line. Traps within a replication were arranged in a line oriented NE to SW in order to minimize competition among traps given prevailing southeasterly winds. The experiment included 10 replications, established 13 October 2004 and serviced weekly until 2 February 2005. Trapping data were analyzed using mixed-models ANOVA with trap position (upwind, downwind), trap distance (0, 10, 20 m), and their interaction as fixed effects. Mean weekly captures in traps on upwind sides of brush lines (13.6 weevils) tended to be higher than on downwind sides (11.6 weevils) but those differences were modest. More importantly, mean weekly captures of traps closely associated with brush (0 m, 18.4 weevils) were about twice those of traps at 10 (9.7 weevils) or 20 m (9.6 weevils) from the brush lines. These results suggest that trap effectiveness may be enhanced if traps are associated with prominent vegetative features when they are available.