Volatile natural products for monitoring the California tree nut insect pest Amyelois transitella

Authors: Beck, John; HIGBEE, BRADLEY - Paramount Farming Company, Inc

Submitted to: American Chemical Society Symposium Series
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/20/2013
Publication Date: 9/25/2013
Publication URL: : http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/bk-2013-1141.ch005
Citation: Beck, J.J., Higbee, B.S. 2013. Volatile natural products for monitoring the California tree nut insect pest Amyelois transitella. In: Beck, J.J., Coats, J.R., Duke, S.O., Koivunen, M.E., editors. Pest management with natural products, ACS Symposium Series, vol. 1141. Washington, D.C.: American Chemical Society. p. 59-72. DOI: 10.102/bk-2013-1141.ch005.

Interpretive Summary: The navel orangeworm moth and the corresponding larva is a major insect pest that inflicts serious economic damage to the California tree nut industry. The tree nut industry is comprised of almonds, pistachios, and walnuts. Feeding by navel orangeworm larvae causes physical damage resulting in lower kernel quality; more importantly the larvae have been shown to carry the spores of fungi that produce dangerous compounds. These particular compounds, called aflatoxins, are toxic metabolites produced by several species of the genus Aspergillus and represent a major food safety concern. Over the years gaseous compounds produced by plants, volatile natural products, have played a large role in efforts to control or monitor navel orangeworm moths. The two most important sources of relevant natural products have been the female navel orangeworm, which produces a complex sex pheromone blend; and, the almond host plant, which has recently been described as the source of a mixture of odors that attract both male and female navel orangeworm. Provided herein is an overview of natural products and their role in efforts to control or monitor navel orangeworm moths in California almonds, pistachios, and walnuts.

Technical Abstract: The navel orangeworm (Amyelois transitella) is a major insect pest that inflicts serious economic damage to the California tree nut industry. Feeding by navel orangeworm larvae causes physical damage resulting in lower kernel quality; more importantly larvae are purported to vector the aflatoxigenic fungi. Aflatoxins are toxic metabolites produced by aspergilli and represent a major food safety concern. Over the years volatile natural products have played a large role in efforts to control or monitor navel orangeworm moths. The two most important sources of relevant natural products have been female navel orangeworm, which produce a complex sex pheromone blend; and, the almond host plant, which has recently been described as the source of a blend of volatiles that attract both male and female navel orangeworm. Provided herein is an overview of natural products and their role in efforts to control or monitor navel orangeworm moths in California almonds, pistachios, and walnuts.