Abstract
Mating disruption is the primary control tactic used against the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.) (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) under the gypsy moth Slow the Spread (STS) program. In this paper, we present the results of the multiyear study designed to evaluate a new liquid SPLAT GM™ (ISCA Tech, Riverside, CA, USA) Organic formulation, which is approved by the USDA to meet National Organic Program Standards for use in organic certified farms, for its ability to disrupt gypsy moth mating, and to evaluate the environmental persistence of SPLAT GM™ and SPLAT GM™ Organic formulations. Environmental persistence of the pheromone beyond the year of application is a significant concern since STS relies on trap catch data to evaluate treatment success. The study was conducted in 2007–2012 in forested areas in Virginia and Wisconsin, USA. We observed that SPLAT GM™ Organic reduced gypsy moth trap catch by ≥90% for 10 weeks in a similar manner as SPLAT GM™ and Hercon Disrupt® II (Hercon Environmental, Emigsville, PA, USA). Although we observed persistent effects in all products one year after application, the persistence observed in SPLAT GM™ and SPLAT GM™ Organic was significantly lower than that of Hercon Disrupt® II plastic laminated flakes.
Highlights
Gypsy moth was introduced into North America in 1869 and remains one of the most severe and economically important forest pests in the US [1]
We compared the efficacy of the SPLAT GMTM Organic formulation with that of the two currently available formulations used in Slow the Spread (STS), SPLAT GMTM and Hercon Disrupt® II plastic flakes; we evaluated the persistent effects of SPLAT GMTM and SPLAT GMTM Organic formulations and compared them to persistent effect of Hercon Disrupt® II
In 2010, male moth catch in the pheromone-baited traps was significantly reduced by all treatments, relative to untreated control plots, in both Virginia (F = 64, df = 3, 84, p = 0.0013; Figure 2a) and Wisconsin (F = 29.7, df = 3, 124, p = 0.0099; Figure 2b)
Summary
Gypsy moth was introduced into North America in 1869 and remains one of the most severe and economically important forest pests in the US [1]. This is supported by reports on long-term absorption and re-emission of disparlure from human tissues [25,26] This prolonged persistent effect can be viewed as an additional benefit of the applied treatment, in some cases it has been shown to interfere with the treatment evaluation, leading to an underestimation of pest population density [21]. This underestimation of the residual population could be problematic when mating disruption is used in gypsy moth eradication programs. We conducted our field experiments in Wisconsin and Virginia, which represent northern and southern extremes of gypsy moth management programs in the US, to determine if product efficacy and persistence were influenced by different summer weather conditions
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