Abstract
Lobesia botrana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) is a permanently established viticultural insect pest in all vinegrowing countries. According to recent findings, sex pheromones dispensed from electrospun mesofibers serve as environmentally compatible, biodegradable mating disruptants of an innovative type. Their disruptive effects in vineyards last for a minimum of 7 weeks per application, equivalent to one Lobesia flight period. Instead of manual application, mesofiber dispensers offer the advantages of (1) mechanical deployability, (2) hydrolytical and/or enzymatic self-degradability, (3) unnoticeable ecotoxicological impact on nontarget organisms, (4) added savings by reduced handling costs, and (5) a fully green approach along the entire process chain from synthesis of the ingredients to biodegradation in the vineyard. Keywords: Lobesia botrana , mating disruption, mesofiber dispensers, sex pheromone, Vitis vinifera
Highlights
Due to considerable input by entomologists (Götz, 1939) and pheromone chemical ecologists (Roelofs et al, 1973; Buser et al 1984; Neumann, 1990; Breuer et al, 2013) the field of mating disruption of destructive vineyard insects has reached its present state of undisputed maturity
In an effort to show what can be accomplished in Lobesia management, advances of chemical ecology, polymer technology and mechanization efforts are combined
The results reported in this paper merge into an integrated concept. This can be seen as a step towards achieving precision organic viticulture where only the minimum of pheromone required at the right time and in the right place is being applied
Summary
Due to considerable input by entomologists (Götz, 1939) and pheromone chemical ecologists (Roelofs et al, 1973; Buser et al 1984; Neumann, 1990; Breuer et al, 2013) the field of mating disruption of destructive vineyard insects has reached its present state of undisputed maturity. In an effort to show what can be accomplished in Lobesia management, advances of chemical ecology, polymer technology and mechanization efforts are combined. The results reported in this paper merge into an integrated concept. This can be seen as a step towards achieving precision organic viticulture where only the minimum of pheromone required at the right time and in the right place is being applied. The resulting mating disruption process and, the greatly reduced level of larval infestation by Lobesia of the grapes so produced is under constant, careful monitoring
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