ARS | Publication request: Collection of ambient pistachio volatiles to develop a synthetic, non-pheromonal background blend for monitoring of navel orangeworm

Submitted to: Meeting Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: January 5, 2009
Publication Date: January 15, 2009
Citation: Beck, J.J. 2009. Collection of ambient pistachio volatiles to develop a synthetic, non-pheromonal background blend for monitoring of navel orangeworm. Meeting Proceedings.

Interpretive Summary: The navel orangeworm (NOW) continues to be a major insect pest of California tree nuts. Its feeding damage lowers nut kernel quality resulting in considerable monetary loss to growers, producers, and shippers; thus, control of NOW is one of the top priorities of the California tree nut industry. Current efforts to monitor NOW utilize virgin female NOW traps or almond press cakes, both of which are beneficial but have proven inadequate in the successful monitoring of NOW. The pheromone blend, while a promising attractant, is hampered by stability problems in the field. Several studies have investigated the various volatile components of an assortment of plant parts from tree nuts. However, the ambient volatile organic compound (VOC) emission of pistachio cultivars in their natural environment has not been studied over the course of a growing season – particularly at specific phenological stages. This aspect is relevant to research concerning NOW. Despite several flights of NOW, the identification of particular VOCs, or their potential relationship to NOW behavior, has not been addressed. To address this deficiency in NOW monitoring and control, this work describes a system that will: utilize a large scale, ambient volatile collection system to collect VOCs from pistachio orchards; identify VOCs that exhibit NOW attractancy behavior; and, formulate a synthetic background blend.

Technical Abstract: The navel orangeworm (NOW) continues to be a major insect pest of California tree nuts. Its feeding damage lowers nut kernel quality resulting in considerable monetary loss to growers, producers, and shippers; thus, control of NOW is one of the top priorities of the California tree nut industry. Several studies have investigated the various volatile components of an assortment of plant parts from tree nuts. However, the ambient volatile organic compound (VOC) emission of pistachio cultivars in their natural environment has not been studied over the course of a growing season – particularly at specific phenological stages. This aspect is relevant to research concerning NOW. Despite several flights of NOW, the identification of particular VOCs, or their potential relationship to NOW behavior, has not been addressed. To address this deficiency in NOW monitoring and control, this work describes a system that will: utilize a large scale, ambient volatile collection system to collect VOCs from pistachio orchards; identify VOCs that exhibit NOW attractancy behavior; and, formulate a synthetic background blend.