ABSTRACT
The olive moth (OM), Prays oleae (Bern.) (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae), is a major olive grove pest worldwide; however, until now, very few studies have investigated the effectiveness of mating disruption (MD) techniques against this pest. Experiments were carried out for two successive years (2019 and 2020) in three different olive groves in Andalucía (Southern Spain) to evaluate mating disruption's efficacy in controlling the OM from the first to the third generation. The effectiveness of MD formulations against the three generations of OM was assessed by determining the percentage of infested olive fruits, the reduction of pheromone trap catches, and the number of affected inflorescences in both MD-treated and untreated control olive groves. The number of release points (one or two aerosol devices per ha) was also evaluated. In all years and trials, the mean number of males caught in traps placed in the MD-treated plots was significantly lower than untreated sites. Mating disruption registered a high suppression of male captures (>75%) in treated plots for two consecutive seasons. Concerning infested olive fruits, substantial reductions (about 80%) were observed in the MD plots of locations B and C, and a reduction of about 40% was detected in location A, compared to the control plot. Results showed that the installation of two aerosol devices/ha reduced fruit damage below 20% of infested olive fruits except for one site where a reduction of about 71% in the MD plot was recorded in 2019. Although few significant differences were associated with OM male catches and infested olive fruits between plots treated with one aerosol/ha and two aerosols/ha in most of the comparisons, significant differences in the number of olive inflorescences infested by P. oleae were found, suggesting a similar performance between the two tested aerosol densities. Results of two-year field trials in Andalucía demonstrated the potential of Mister P X841 aerosol devices as an effective tool for controlling the olive moth, P. oleae.
ABSTRACT
Pheromone-mediated mating disruption (MD) is widely used as a control tool to manage the European grapevine moth (EGVM), Lobesia botrana. Most of the MD formulations are "passive" reservoir dispensers, which need to be used at a rather large number of units per hectare. A promising alternative is represented by automatic aerosol devices, releasing pheromone puffs at programmed time intervals. Herein, we investigated the effectiveness of MD aerosol product Isonet® L MisterX841 in reducing EGVM infestation on grape in comparison to the reference MD product Isonet® L and the grower's standard. Experiments were carried out over 2 years in two different study sites of Aragon region (Spain). EGVM male catches were monitored using traps baited with the female sex pheromone. The effectiveness of MD formulations against the three generations of EGVM was assessed by determining the percentage of infested bunches and the number of nests per bunch. As expected, a much greater amount of male catches in the grower's standard over Isonet® L MisterX841 and Isonet ® L was observed. No significant differences about EGVM male catches were found in vineyards where Isonet® L MisterX841 and Isonet® L were used. EGVM-infested bunches, as well as number of nests per bunch, were higher in the grower's standard, if compared to vineyards where we tested Isonet® L MisterX841 and Isonet® L. However, the employ of the latter led to a lower EGVM bunch infestation, if compared to Isonet® L MisterX841. Overall, the MD approach proposed here is effective against EGVM. These aerosol devices require a lower number of units per hectare if compared to hand-applied dispensers, saving labor costs and contributing to reduce plastic disposal in agricultural settings.
