Abstract
In Bulgarian fruit growing agriculture mainly chemical plant protection is applied. Applications with organophosphates and pyrethroids are carried out to control the economically most important peach pest - the oriental fruit moth (Grapholita molesta Busck.). Annually during the vegetation season 7-8 insecticide treatments are applied. This leads to contamination of fruit products and the environment, which is a prerequisite for seeking other approaches. Regarding to fruit moth, sex pheromones are one of the most widely used environmental control methods, but they are most commonly used in apples. Their introduction in the monitoring of the main peach pest can lead to a reduction of chemical treatments and production with less pesticide residues. A promising direction is the use of pheromones to control the pests through sexual disorientation of males. The trial of mating disruption in the present study were carried out with ISOMATE® OFM TT dispensers in 0.9 ha peach orchard in 2020 and 2021. Pheromone traps type "Delta" of the Hungarian company CSALOMON® were used. The ISOMATE OFM TT dispensers, installed before the first flight of OFM at the rate of 250 units per ha, efficiently reduced fruit damages - down to 0.1-0.2% at harvest. In the reference orchard with 6 insecticide treatment against OFM, the damages reached 3.0-3.6%. The results indicate that mating disruption for control of Grapholita molesta Busck. can be used in production of quality and healthy peach fruits.
Highlights
The use of synthetic insecticides since the end of the Second World War has served to increase considerably the world’s food production, but these pesticides compromise the environment and human health (Devine, 2007)
The aim of this study was to test the effectiveness of mating disruption (MD) in control of oriental fruit moth (Grapholita molesta Busck.) in peach orchards, using ISOMATE® OFM - TT dispensers
Monitoring of oriental fruit moth (Grapholita molesta Busck.) flight was observed by sex trapping in both seasons
Summary
The use of synthetic insecticides since the end of the Second World War has served to increase considerably the world’s food production, but these pesticides compromise the environment and human health (Devine, 2007). Social awareness of the drawbacks of these classical insecticides in the early sixties urged the biotechnological industry to develop safer and more ecologically friendly alternatives (Wright, 1964). One of these alternatives was the interfering with pheromone-mediated matefinding systems (Witzgall, 2010; Ioriatti, 2011). Its pheromone is a 3-component blend: (Z)-8- and (E)-8-dodecenyl acetates (95:5) with 3-10% of (Z)-8-dodecenol added. This moth seems especially susceptible to mating disruption, with a wide variety of formulation types (micro-dispensers to aerosol puffers) of the pheromone providing excellent fruit protection (Cardé, 2007; Evenden, 2016). In 2010, about 50 000 ha were treated yearly with mating disrupting for this moth (Witzgall et al 2010)
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