Skip to main content
ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Wapato, Washington » Temperate Tree Fruit and Vegetable Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #230096
Title: Field and Laboratory Responses of Male Leafroller Moths, Choristoneura rosaceana and Pandemis pyrusana, to Pheromone Concentrations in an Attracticide Paste Formulation

Author
item CURKOVIC, TOMISLAV - UNIV OF CHILE, SANTIAGO
item BRUNNER, JAY - WSU TFREC, WENATCHEE, WA
item Landolt, Peter
item KIRSCH, PHILLIP - IPM TECHNOL.PORTLAND,OR

Submitted to: Journal of Insect Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/4/2008
Publication Date: 6/24/2009
Citation: Curkovic, T.M., Brunner, J.F., Landolt, P.J., Kirsch, P. 2009. Field and Laboratory Responses of Male Leafroller Moths, Choristoneura rosaceana and Pandemis pyrusana, to Pheromone Concentrations in an Attracticide Paste Formulation. Journal of Insect Science. Vol 9 (45):1-14.

Interpretive Summary: New methods and approaches are needed to control leafroller pests of apple and pear orchards. Chemical attractants are used in traps to determining the presence and abundance of an insect pest and can also be used in association with a pesticide to attract and then kill pests, thereby reducing reproduction and populations. Researchers at the USDA-ARS laboratory in Wapato, Washington, in collaboration with scientists at Washington State University, Wenatchee, WA are using pheromones and other attractants to develop lure-and-kill technologies to control pest moths species. They determined that an attract-and-kill system comprised of a commercially available paste with both sex pheromone and a pesticide added, was effective in attracting and killing both oblique banded and Pandemis leafrollers both in a wind tunnel and in field plots. Optimum pheromone concentrations were determined for both species to obtain maximum attraction under field conditions. Field tests of lure-and kill materials indicated a strong disruption of mate finding by both leafroller species, possibly due to the death of large numbers of male moths. This information indicates that attract and kill approaches may be an effective way to manage leafroller populations, with greatly reduced amounts of pesticides.

Technical Abstract: Choristoneura rosaceana and Pandemis pyrusana male responses to an attracticide paste formulation loaded with different pheromone concentrations of appropriate blends encompassing four orders of magnitude (0.01 to 16%) were evaluated under laboratory (indoor wind tunnel) and field conditions. Response of males of both species increased as pheromone concentration in the attracticide paste increased. There was little or no response of males to attracticide pastes with less than 0.16% pheromone. The pheromone concentration response for P. pyrusana was linear while it following an S-shaped curve for C. rosaceana. Z11-14 Ac, the main component reported for the pheromone blends of both species, release rates from the attracticide paste was estimated at 3.6-3.8 ng/h. Inhibitory thresholds were not reached for either species, even using pheromone concentrations as high as 16%. Male moths were able to find and choose from pheromone sources with the highest concentrations under field conditions. In general, male response to the attracticide paste was significantly lower than to lures when pheromone concentration was less than 3-4% but responses to the attacticide paste were similar to lures when the pheromone concentration was higher. Response of males to the attracticide paste was statistically similar to C. rosaceana females only when the pheromone concentration was above 1.6%. In the case of P. pyrusana male response to the attracticide paste was significantly lower than to females even at the highest concentration tested (16%). Overall, the optimum pheromone concentration of the attracticide paste to maximize moth approaches was 3.2 % for C. rosaceana and 8% for P. pyrusana. For both species male approach and contact with the attracticide paste was identical to the male behavior reported for approach and contact with females, suggesting the viability of developing attract and kill formulations for leafrollers. Key words: inhibitory threshold, septa, source contact, wind tunnel.