Exploiting Thrips Aggregation Pheromones to Develop a Lure-and-Kill Strategy for the Management of the Bean Flower Thrips
David K. Mfuti | Amanuel Tamiru | William D. J. Kirk | Adeyemi O. Akinyemi | Heather Campbell | Matthew O’Brien | Falko P. Drijfhout | Tom W. Pope | Saliou Niassy | Sevgan Subramanian
The potential of semiochemicals to lure insect pests to a trap where they can be killed with biopesticides has been demonstrated as an eco-friendly pest management alternative. In this study, we tested two recently characterized male-produced aggregation pheromones of the bean flower thrips <i>Megalurothrips sjostedti</i> (Trybom), namely (<i>R</i>)-lavandulyl 3-methylbutanoate (major) and (<i>R</i>)-lavandulol (minor), for their field efficacy. Moreover, compatibility of these pheromones and two other thrips attractants, Lurem-TR and neryl (<i>S</i>)-2-methylbutanoate, with the entomopathogenic fungus (EPF) <i>Metarhizium anisopliae</i> ICIPE 69 has been determined. Our study revealed that the <i>M. sjostedti</i> aggregation pheromones have dose-dependent antifungal effects on the EPF viability, but showed no fungistatic effect at a field-realistic dose for attraction of thrips. (<i>R</i>)-lavandulyl 3-methylbutanoate had similar antifungal effects as neryl (<i>S</i>)-2-methylbutanoate 8 days after exposure; whereas, Lurem-TR had a stronger antifungal effect than other thrips attractants. In the semi-field experiments, all autoinoculation devices maintained at least 86% viability of <i>M. anisopliae</i> conidia after 12 days of exposure. Field trials demonstrated for the first time that (<i>R</i>)-lavandulyl 3-methylbutanoate increases trap catches. Our findings pave a way for designing a lure-and-kill thrips management strategy to control bean flower thrips using autoinoculation devices or spot spray application.
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