EVALUATION OF PHEROMONE-BAITED TRAPS AND PHEROMONE LURE CONCENTRATIONS FOR MONITORING BLUEBERRY LEAFTIER (LEPIDOPTERA: TORTRICIDAE) POPULATIONS

Abstract

AbstractSix pheromone trap designs, including five high-capacily and a sticky trap, and four PVC lure concentrations of pheromone were evaluated for monitoring blueberry leaftier populations in six blueberry fields in Nova Scotia. Larval densities and subsequent male moth catches in the same year for all the trap designs evaluated, except double funnel traps, were highly correlated. Multipher III traps captured the highest number of moths, followed by Unitraps and double funnel traps. The ice cream container trap captured significantly fewer moths than any other trap design. At most locations, the first moth was caught on the same day in all the trap designs except the ice cream container trap. Trap catches increased with increasing pheromone concentration up to 0.03% dose. Traps baited with 0.3% lures captured significantly fewer moths than those with 0.003% or 0.03%. Based on mean trap catches, R2 values, coefficients of variation among traps, trap efficiency, and lure evaluations, the Unitraps baited with 0.003% lures are selected for further development of a population monitoring system for blueberry leaftier moths. The Multipher III traps baited with 0.03% lures captured up to 44 000 male moths (mean per trap per season) at high densities, demonstrating their potential in mass trapping blueberry leaftiers.