Pear ester based lures for the codling mothCydia pomonellaL. — A summary of research efforts in Hungary

Abstract

For acceptable capture efficiency it was necessary to add acetic acid to pear ester for successful trapping of codling moth populations in Hungary. The activity of pear ester on its own was very weak and unsatisfactory. Pear ester+acetic acid baited traps caught on an average 25% (mean of 6 tests) of the catch in pheromone traps. Traps with pear ester+acetic acid were clearly advantageous as compared to pheromone traps in that they caught not only males but also females (both virgins and mated) in a high percentage. Traps baited with pear ester+acetic acid clearly outperformed high-load pheromone lures in orchards with mating disruption and should be the right choice for the grower for sampling populations of codling moth in a mating disruption situation. In orchards with no mating disruption the relative inefficiency of pear ester+acetic acid baited traps as compared to pheromone traps can easily be overcome by applying more traps than usual. Thus the overall codling moth numbers caught will become higher and would make any conclusions drawn more reliable. Traps baited with pear ester+acetic acid always caught more when set at the highest branches (3.0–3.5 m) than when set lower (1.5–1.8 m) on trees.