Evaluation of Pheromone To Disrupt Mating of Eoreuma loftini (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in Sugarcane

Abstract

The effect of the pheromone of Mexican rice borer, Eoreuma loftini (Dyar), on mating of laboratory-reared females to feral males was tested on mating tables in sugarcane fields. Reductions of 94.3 and 90.5% in mating was obtained using pheromone formulated in cotton wicks and rubber septa, respectively. In three small field plots (≈0.4 ha) treated with 198 g/ha of pheromone in rubber septa, 81.9—95.5% reductions in mating were obtained in the treated areas; 98.6—99.4% reductions in pheromone trap captures were obtained. When (Z)-13-octadecenyl acetate was tested alone, a 63.8% reduction in mating was obtained through 28 d, but this decreased to 6.9% reduction after 43 d.