Attraction of Pollinators to Atemoya (Annona squamosa × Annona cherimola) in Puerto Rico Using Commercial Lures and Food Attractants

Abstract

Atemoya is a hybrid between Annona squamosa L. and Annona cherimola Miller (Annonaceae) and has potential to be an important fruit crop in tropical and subtropical areas. A major impediment to fruit production is low fruit set due to inadequate pollinator visits, typically, by beetles in the family Nitidulidae. We used Universal moth traps to monitor the attractiveness of two commercially available Nitidulidae lures in combination with various food attractants, including raw bread dough, apple juice, and malta beverage, a soft drink by-product of the brewing process. The most commonly trapped beetles were, in order of decreasing frequency, Carpophilus dimidiatus (F.), Brachypeplus mutilatus Erichson, Urophorus humeralis (F.) (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), and Europs fervidus Blatchley (Coleoptera: Monotomidae). All traps, except the unbaited control traps, caught beetles. In a previous study, we found that combining two commercial lures had a synergistic effect on the attraction of these beetle species. In this study, the addition of food attractants increased the number of beetles trapped compared with traps baited with only the commercial lures. Also, food attractants appear to be key in attracting U. humeralis; only one U. humeralis individual of the 206 caught during the experiment was trapped without a food attractant. The variation between the number of beetles caught in traps containing the same treatments was high and may explain the erratic results reported in other studies of pollination in Annona spp. The results are discussed with respect to the use of nitidulid lures and food attractants to increase fruit set in atemoya and other Annonaceae.

Yield and Fruit Quality Traits of Atemoya Hybrids Grown in Puerto Rico

“…There has been some success using nitidulid pheromones to attract pollinators into atemoya orchards, thereby increasing fruit set (Nadal and Peña, 1994;Peña et al, 1999). Preliminary work by the authors indicates that these commercially available pheromones attract nitidulid species responsible for pollination in atemoya (Jenkins et al, 2013(Jenkins et al, , 2015.…”

Pollinating insects of cherimoya (Annona cherimola Miller) in La Molina, Lima, Peru

“…(George et al, 1989). Recently, in the Caribbean Islands, the species Europs fervidus Blatchley was noted as the main pollinating agent of the atemoya fruit tree (Annona x atemoya) (Jenkins et al, 2015).…”

Beetles (Coleoptera) of Peru: A Survey of the Families. Monotomidae Laporte, 1840

“…Europs fervidus Blatchley, known from Florida and the Caribbean Islands, is a pollinator of the tropical hybrid fruit atemoya (Annona x atemoya). It is possible that other species may function in pollinator roles through the tropics (Jenkins et al 2013(Jenkins et al , 2015. In the United States, Europs pallipennis LeConte and some other monotomids can be collected in great numbers using elevated flight intercept traps in old growth temperate forests (Ulyshen & Hanula 2007).…”