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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Wapato, Washington » Temperate Tree Fruit and Vegetable Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #275795
Title: Monitoring codling moth (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in sex phermone-treated orchards with (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene or pear ester in combination with codlemone and acetic acid

Author
item Knight, Alan
item Light, Douglas

Submitted to: Environmental Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/28/2012
Publication Date: 4/19/2012
Citation: Knight, A.L., Light, D.M. 2012. Monitoring codling moth (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in sex phermone-treated orchards with (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene or pear ester in combination with codlemone and acetic acid. Environmental Entomology. 41(2):407-414.

Interpretive Summary: management of codling moths as a pest of apple and pear requires accurate monitoring of moth populations through the season. Monitoring tools are needed that can track the populations of female moths and provide precise measures of pest pressure within the orchard. ARS researchers at the USDA, ARS, Yakima Agricultural Research Laboratory, Wapato, WA and Albany, CA tested host plant chemicals and food baits for codling moth as potential new attractants. They found that codling moth sex pheromone with either (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene or pear ester combined with acetic acid are effective lures for male and female moths in orchards treated with sex pheromone dispensers for mating disruption. These results can lead to the use of an additional tool by growers to more judiciously use insecticides to supplement their sex pheromone-based management programs.

Technical Abstract: Traps baited with ethyl (E,Z)-2,4-decadienoate (pear ester) or (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene (DMNT) in two- or three-way combinations with the sex pheromone (E,E)-8,10-dodecadien-1-ol (codlemone) and acetic acid (AA) were evaluated for codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.). All studies were conducted in apple orchards, Malus domestica Borkhausen, treated with sex pheromone dispensers during 2010. Septa were loaded with codlemone, DMNT, and pear ester individually or codlemone with either DMNT or pear ester together (combo lures). Polyethylene vials loaded with AA were added as a co-lure. Residual analyses of field-aged combo lures and weight loss of the AA co-lure were conducted. AA vials lost 50 to 150 mg wk -1. Weekly weight loss was not affected by field aging, but was closely correlated with the daily mean temperature. Pear ester was released from septa at a slightly higher but non-significant rate than codlemone. DMNT was released at a significantly higher rate than codlemone, and lures were effective for four weeks. The addition of codlemone to traps baited with either host plant volatile plus AA had either no effect or significantly increased total moth catches. The addition of AA significantly increased the catch of female moths with either combo lure. Total moth catches in traps baited with pear ester or DMNT combo lures and AA did not differ and were either significantly higher or similar to the pear ester combo lure. These data suggest that codling moth may be more effectively monitored in sex pheromone-treated orchards with multi-component lures, including codlemone, AA, and host plant volatiles.