Effect of Synthetic Pheromone Permeation on Captures of Male Codling Moth (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in Pheromone and Virgin Female Moth-Baited Traps at Different Tree Heights in Small Orchard Blocks

Abstract

A 3-yr study conducted in small apple blocks (≤0.4 ha) examined the effect of synthetic sex pheromone permeation on trap catches of male codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L. l. at different tree heights. Traps (Pherocon 1CP) were placed above upper canopy, at upper canopy edge, in middle canopy, at lower canopy edge, and below lower canopy. Traps were baited with either a 1-mg or 10-mg codlemone-loaded rubber septum lure (Pherocon), a mating disruption dispenser (Isomate-C), or in some casescaged virgin female codling moths. In the blocks receiving commercially recommended insecticide cover sprays and considering all lure types, the upper canopy edge traps always captured the greatest numbers of male moths, significant in 11 of 18 trials. Similarly, in the presence of mating disruption dispensers (at rates of 1,000 and 2,000 dispensers per hectare) and considering all lure types, the upper canopy edge traps nearly always captured the greatest numbers of male moths, significant in 24 of 28 trials. In the insecticide-treated blocks, the 1-mg lure was the most attractive, but in the pheromone-treated blocks, traps loaded with the 10-mg lure captured the most moths.