Monitoring and mating disruption of the maize stalkborer, Busseola fusca, in Kenya with pheromones

Abstract

Trapping studies in the Trans-Nzoia District of Kenya established that several locally made water traps were as effective as commercially available plastic funnel traps for trapping male moths of Busseola fusca (Fuller) with pheromone. The effects of trap colour, trap spacing, trap height and the type of pheromone dispenser and loading on catches were also investigated. A slow-release pheromone formulation, developed at the Natural Resources Institute (NRI) and commercialised by AgriSense, gave high levels of communication disruption when applied at 40 g a.i. ha −1 as 250 or 500 point sources ha −1. This was observed to persist for at least 18 weeks and was predicted to last for 6 months from release rate studies. In trials on 1.0 and 0.5 ha plots some reduction in damage levels was observed in treated plots, leading to the conclusion that mating disruption had occurred, but further studies are required to optimise the timing and scale of application.