Volatiles of the trap crop sunflowers: Effects on the behaviour of adult female Conogethes punctiferalis moths

Abstract

AbstractSunflowers (Helianthus annuus) are potential trap crops to attract the yellow peach moth (Conogethes punctiferalis) in orchards but the volatile compounds released from sunflowers and their effects on C. punctiferalis behaviour are not clear. Here we used solid phase micro‐extraction to collect volatiles released from flower disks of sunflowers, identified them by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, and examined the attractiveness of some of the compounds to mated female adult C. punctiferalis moths in Y‐tube olfactometer choice tests. We detected nine volatile compounds (α‐Pinene, β‐Phellandrene, Camphene, β‐Pinene, 3‐Carene, D‐Limonene, Eucalyptol, γ‐Terpinen, and Valencene) with consistently large peak areas for α‐Pinene and β‐Phellandrene. Among tested volatiles, both α‐Pinene and β‐Phellandrene were attractive to C. punctiferalis in olfactometer tests but this was only significant for higher concentrations of β‐Phellandrene. This suggests that β‐Phellandrene may promote C. punctiferalis oviposition on sunflower disks. This study provides insights into volatile chemical mediated responses of insect herbivores to trap crops.