Eco-friendly pheromone dispensers—a green route to manage the European grapevine moth?

Abstract

The development of environmentally sustainable control strategies to fight insect pests is a key challenge nowadays. Pheromone-mediated mating disruption (MD) is based on the release of synthetic sex attractants into a crop, interfering with mate finding of a given pest species. However, a limited number of research items have been published on the optimization of MD strategies against the European grapevine moth, Lobesia botrana, as well as on the use of biodegradable dispensers to reduce waste production in vineyards, despite the high economic importance of this pest. Therefore, the present study evaluated the efficacy of the MD products Isonet® L TT and the biodegradable Isonet® L TT BIO, applied at various densities, in reducing L. botrana damage on grapevine in comparison to an untreated control and the reference MD product Isonet® L. Experiments were conducted in three different areas of grapevine cultivation, located in Central and Northern Italy, over three different years. Our MD approach allowed a reliable control of the three generations of L. botrana during the whole grape growing season, leading to a significant reduction in the infested flower clusters and bunches, as well as in the number of nests per flower cluster and bunch, if compared to the untreated control. The performances of Isonet® L TT BIO, Isonet® LTT, and Isonet® L did not differ in terms of infested flower clusters/bunches, as well as nests per flower cluster/bunch. This was confirmed in all experimental sites over 3 years of field experiments. Overall, the present research provides useful information for the optimization of MD programs against L. botrana, highlighting the interesting potential of biodegradable pheromone dispensers that can be easily applied at low densities in vineyards, reducing the use of chemical pesticides to control moth pests.

Influence of mating disruption on the reproductive biology of the vine mealybug,Planococcus ficus(Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), under field conditions

“…During the trials, five dispensers were collected monthly, wrapped in silver foil, and stored in sealed plastic bags at 4 °C in order to prevent further release of the active ingredient. The residual amount of pheromone in field‐collected and unexposed dispensers was determined by gas chromatography in the respective laboratories …”

“…The residual amount of pheromone in field-collected and unexposed dispensers was determined by gas chromatography in the respective laboratories. 42,43…”

Novel small molecule agonists of anAedes aegyptineuropeptide Y receptor block mosquito biting behavior

“…Development of a non-toxic compound that destroys immature ovarian follicles in female rats, rendering them sterile has recently shown success and been developed for commercial use (Witmer et al, 2017). Field-based pheromone dispensers have been effective in luring male European grapevine moths away from females to decrease the number of successful matings and thus pest population size (Lucchi et al, 2018).…”

Towards pesticide-free farming? Sharing needs and knowledge promotes Integrated Pest Management

“…First-and second-generation infestation was measured through on-site surveys on non-destructively sampled inflorescences and clusters. As to the third generation, an estimate of the larval population and the grape infestation was made at harvest, on samples collected in the vineyards and dissected in the laboratory (Lucchi et al 2018). As for VMB populations, the effectiveness of biocontrol agents was assessed in mid-July and at harvest by checking A. sp.…”

“…Results were very promising; the farmers did not spray against L. botrana in MD areas, with extremely low infestation at harvest (less than 5% of infested bunches) (Lucchi et al 2018), whereas they sprayed two times in the conventional areas, with a more limited efficacy. Besides, excellent results were obtained in the control of VMB, so that other local farms joined the project.…”