Efficacy of pseudostem and pheromone seasonal trapping of the banana weevilCosmopolites sordidusin South Africa

Abstract

The banana weevil (Cosmopolites sordidus) is an important pest of bananas (Musaceae: Musa species) in South Africa. Adult trapping methods were compared in field trials using a randomised block design. Pseudostem traps, pitfall traps containing a pheromone (either Cosmolure Õ (Pheromone A) or Cosmolure+ Õ (Pheromone B)), and unbaited pitfall traps (control), were compared over 5 weeks during all seasons along the Southeast coast of South Africa. Pseudostem traps treated with an insecticide, and rhizome traps, were included as additional treatments in autumn. In summer two treatments were also added: individual suspension of both pheromones above a pitfall trap either in combination with or without a pseudostem trap. The adult beetles were sexed, and the number of internal eggs noted. Pheromone A proved to be the most effective of the different pheromone lures. Grouping of the pheromones resulted in a synergistic response, while combining the pseudostem did not enhance trap efficacy. The different plant material traps and the control were usually equally effective in catching weevils. Plant material traps caught greater numbers of fecund females, but pheromone traps captured a higher proportion of females. Treatment effects were much less pronounced in summer, and compared to a pseudostem trap, pitfall traps were the most efficacious during spring. Compared to conventional pseudostem trapping, Pheromone A pitfall traps should be optimally applied during spring in South Africa.

Migration potential of the banana weevil Cosmopolites sordidus

“…The present study shows that the two baits were almost equally attractive to adult weevils in the range 0–10 m, whereas the pheromone bait was more efficient in the range 10–100 m. The greater effect of pheromones in attracting weevils compared with pseudostem material has been reported previously (Jayaraman et al , 1997; De Graaf et al , 2005). By contrast, Tinzaara et al (2007b) found no significant difference between fresh pseudostem and pheromone (Cosmolure+; ChemTica Int., Costa Rica) attractiveness to adult weevils.…”

Management of Cosmopolites sordidus and Metamasius hemipterus in Banana by Pheromone-Based Mass Trapping

“…Baiting pseudostem traps with sordidin released at one milligram per day increased capture rates by eight fold, while white pitfall traps containing soapy water and from which sordidin was released at one milligram per day captured about two and a half times more C. sordidus than similarly sordidin-baited pseudostem traps (Jayaraman et al, 1997). Several studies have confirmed the efficacy of sordidinbaited pitfall traps (Tinzaara et al, 1999;de Graaf et al, 2005). A more recent study demonstrated that crawl-in ground traps outperform pitfall traps (Reddy et al, 2009), and that traps are more effective in the shade (Reddy et al, 2008(Reddy et al, , 2009).…”

Effect of fallows on population dynamics of Cosmopolites sordidus: toward integrated management of banana fields with pheromone mass trapping

“…Speijer et al (1993) only found a correlation between numbers of male weevils caught with pseudostem trap in a plot and the mean percent of infestation measured in the plot. De Graaf et al (2005) found that less than 20% of the total of pheromone traps catch comprised females with eggs, yet only this category can damage the rhizome.…”

“…In 1993, Budenberg et al (1993b) identified the aggregation pheromone emitted by C. sordidus males, and Beauhaire et al (1995) further developed the equivalent synthetic pheromone called ‘Sordidine’. Subsequent to 1999, traps with Sordidine, formulated by ChemTica International (Costa Rica), have been tested under field conditions in Costa Rica (Alpizar et al , 1999), Uganda (Tinzaara et al , 1999) and South Africa (De Graaf et al , 2005). The pheromone traps are more effective than pseudostem traps.…”