Co-application of microencapsulated pear ester and codlemone for mating disruption of Cydia pomonella

Abstract

Studies were conducted in two apple orchards in 2009 and 2010 to examine whether the efficacy of mating disruption can be improved by co-applying microencapsulated (MEC) pear ester (DA-MEC) and codlemone (Ph-MEC) in comparison to DA-MEC and Ph-MEC treatments alone. Combined applications were made at a rate of 5 g a.i ha−1 DA-MEC + 25 g a.i ha−1 Ph-MEC in HV (635 L water ha−1) and ULV (40 L water ha−1) sprays. Moth catches were monitored weekly with delta-style traps containing 3 mg each of codlemone and pear ester. Moths in DA-combo traps were sexed and females were dissected to determine mating status. Codling moth catches did not differ significantly between the ULV and HV sprays of DA-MEC + Ph-MEC. The combinational MEC-treatments applied in both spray volume maintained good trap shutdown, each averaging 85 % reduction in moth capture over distant control orchards. While DA-MEC and Ph-MEC treatments alone disrupted male codling moth orientation to traps by 43 and 61 %, respectively. In the DA-MEC, Ph-MEC and combinational blocks, DA-combo traps caught a lower percentage (9–14 %) of female moths than those placed in both untreated and insecticide-treated blocks. In July and September, fruit damage was evaluated by visually inspecting a total of 1,200 randomly chosen fruits per orchard. Depending on the spray volume used, the combined MEC sprays reduced the number of fruits infested with larvae by 85–93 % compared with untreated control. In conclusion, DA-MEC can effectively augment pheromone mating disruption and offers additional control option for integrated pest management programmes.