Skip to main content
ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Parlier, California » San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center » Commodity Protection and Quality Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #258880
Title: Mating disruption for control of Plodia interpunctella (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in dried beans

Author
item Burks, Charles - Chuck
item MCLAUGHLIN, JOHN - Retired Non ARS Employee
item MILLER, JAMES - Michigan State University
item Brandl, David

Submitted to: Journal of Stored Products Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/1/2011
Publication Date: 6/13/2011
Citation: Burks, C.S., Mclaughlin, J.R., Miller, J.R., Brandl, D.G. 2011. Mating disruption for control of Plodia interpunctella (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in dried beans. Journal of Stored Products Research. 47(3):216-221.

Interpretive Summary: Mating disruption for the Indianmeal moth could reduce more toxic control measures such as fogging, residual insecticides, and fumigation. However, concerns about efficacy and logistical difficulties slow adaptation of this technology. Working at a commercial dried bean facility, we demonstrated that mating disruption using a high-volume timed pheromone dispenser reduced male activity and reproduction as efficaciously as fogging. Infestation was found in target diet placed in fogged and untreated areas, but not the mating disruption area. This is the first study of a high volume time release mating disruption dispenser at a commercial facility. The successful demonstration of mating disruption using this type of dispenser will facilitate adoption of this technology in stored products.

Technical Abstract: We compared the impact of mating disruption and aerosol space treatment using synergized pyrethrins on Indianmeal moth Plodia interpunctella in 2200 to 2900 m3 structures at a dried bean storage and processing facility in Stanislaus County, CA USA. Mating disruption was applied using a high volume aerosol timed release dispenser to apply 1.9 mg/d/100 m3 (Z,E)-9,12-tetradecyldienyl acetate (Z9,E12-14:Ac). Pheromone traps, sentinel female moths, and oviposition bait cups were used to compare male response to pheromone lures, female mating, and oviposition between the mating disruption and aerosol space treatment areas and an untreated part of the facility before and after mating disruption. Compared to an untreated area, males in pheromone traps and female mating were greatly reduced in both the aerosol space treatment and mating disruption treatment areas. After the second week of the study, P. interpunctella progeny were recovered from the untreated area and the aerosol space treatment area but not the mating disruption area, despite an active infestation in this area at the start of the study. An experiment examining development on the dried beans stored at this facility found variable development on broken beans, but generally poor development in intact beans. We conclude that the mating disruption treatment was as effective as the space treatment in suppressing population growth under the conditions at this facility, and discuss the potential for mating disruption using high volume aerosol timed dispensers for phycitine moths in stored products.