Communication Disruption of <I>Epiphyas postvittana</I> (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) By Using Two Formulations at Four Point Source Densities in Vineyards

Abstract

Executive SummaryWe conducted this economic analysis at the request of USDA-APHIS-PPQ-EDP. Our objective was to quantitatively characterize the economic costs to apple, grape, orange and pear crops that would result from the introduction of the light brown apple moth (LBAM), Epiphyas postvittana, into the conterminous United States. This information can be used to inform regulatory policy and funding decisions regarding LBAM.Our economic analysis had two components: 1) a geospatial analysis that identified areas at risk for LBAM establishment based on climate and hosts and 2) a quantitative analysis, using a probabilistic modeling approach, which estimated the economic losses LBAM could cause if introduced into these areas due to damage, control, quarantines and research. Economic effects outside of the agricultural crop (apple, grape, orange and pear) production sector, e.g. trade effects, are beyond the scope of this analysis and are not provided.Our geospatial analysis estimated that LBAM could establish throughout the majority of the conterminous United States. This establishment range included the majority of the growing area for the analyzed crops.Our quantitative model estimated the mean total annual costs if LBAM were introduced in the at-risk areas to be $118 million. The 5 th and 95 th percentile values were: $86 million and $150 million, i.e. 95 percent of the time, total annual costs exceeded $86 million.The combined results of our geospatial and quantitative analyses indicate that LBAM could cause substantial economic losses to U.S. apple, grape, orange and pear crops if introduced throughout the conterminous United States. We note LBAM is highly polyphagous and would probably cause additional economic damage to other crops and sectors of the U.S. economy, e.g. domestic and international trade. Also, because LBAM can occur in nursery stock,

Is the Combination of Insecticide and Mating Disruption Synergistic or Additive in Lightbrown Apple Moth, Epiphyas postvittana?

“…In the third field experiment, a strong rate response with SPLAT ™ HD LBAM occurred, consistent with the results of Suckling et al [ 21 ] in New Zealand, where the top density was 500/ha. The degree of disruption to the synthetic pheromone trap catch at the highest rate (625 g ha -1 ) of SPLAT ™ alone was 93.5%.…”

“…Mating disruption has been long developed against LBAM [ 17 , 18 ], and a four-species pheromone blend is now used in commercial orchards in New Zealand [ 19 ]. Mating disruption technologies have been tested against LBAM in vineyards [ 20 , 21 ], apple [ 18 ] and citrus [ 22 ] orchards, pine forests [ 23 ] and urban areas [ 24 ], with ground and aerial releases of a range of formulations that have included polyethylene tubing, micro-encapsulated sprayables, SPLAT ™ [ 23 ] and aerosols [ 25 ].…”

“…The behavioural mechanism of operation of lure and kill and mating disruption systems the same for both technologies in the case of fully attractive blends where false trails are produced, but attractive blends are not necessary or even always used in mating disruption [ 10 , 20 ]. It could be expected that the lure and kill droplets for LBAM would operate by male removal, since a previously-developed formulation did so [ 28 ], and also that increasing point-source density would increase efficacy [ 21 ]. Attractive synthetic sources enable the mechanism of point source competition with calling wild females, which is purported to provide density dependent suppression [ 10 ].…”

Combining Attractants and Larvicides in Biodegradable Matrices for Sustainable Mosquito Vector Control

“…Because of its flexibility, ease of application, and biodegradability, SPLAT has already been used successfully against several crop pest species, either utilizing mating disruption (sex pheromone embedded SPLAT; e.g. [ 79 , 97 , 98 ] or attract and kill techniques (sex pheromone plus insecticides embedded SPLAT formulations; [ 99 , 100 ]). It is likely that hardened wax emulsions pellets, such as those used in our study, could also work if applied ‘prophylactically’ prior to rainfall.…”

Challenges of pheromone-based mating disruption of Cydia strobilella and Dioryctria abietella in spruce seed orchards

“…The technique has been used successfully to suppress mating of, e.g. Paralobesia viteana (Clemens) and Epiphyas postvittana (Walker) in vineyards (Jenkins and Isaacs 2008 ; Suckling et al 2012 ), Grapholita molesta (Busck) in apple orchards (Stelinski et al 2007 ), and Phyllocnistis citrella Stainton in citrus orchards (Lapointe et al 2014 ).…”