Development of economical population control of codling moth (Cydia pomonella) by disrupting communication with semiochemicals
1994
McDonough, L.M. | Davis, H.G.
The feasibility of controlling codling moth populations by disrupting communication semiochemicals was established about 20 years ago. Nevertheless, an economical and effective controll procedure based on communication disruption has not yet been developed in the USA. To develop economical control, several critical issues must be addressed. First, when the communication disruptant semiochemical is the sex pheromone, it is believed that an exact replica of the natural pheromone (same components and same component ratios) would be the most efficacious disruptant. Sex pheromones of insects are almost invariably multicomponent, and the codling moth sex had been reported to consist of three components, but subsequently two components were shown to be inactive. It is not known whether there are other active components remaining to be discovered. Second, the potential value of nonpheromone semiochemicals for communication disruption of moths is unknown. For the codling moth, certain nonpheromone semiochemicals appear to have efficacy superior to the single pheromone component. Third, to effect population control of codling moth in the Yakima valley, the disrupting semiochemical must be continuously disseminated throughout the orchard canopy for a period of five months. At present no known controlled release device can fulfill this requirement as efficiently as desired. A major problem with controlled release of the codling moth sex pheromone is the ease of chemical decomposition.
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