Mating Disruption of Planococcus ficus (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) in Vineyards Using Reservoir Pheromone Dispensers

Abstract

Mating disruption field experiments to control the vine mealybug, Planococcus ficus (Signoret) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), were carried out in 2008 and 2009 in two commercial vineyards in Sardinia (Italy). The effectiveness of mating disruption was evaluated by testing reservoir dispensers loaded with 100 mg (62.5 g/ha) and 150 mg (93.8 g/ha) of the sex pheromone in 2008 and 2009, respectively. The number of males captured in pheromone traps, the P. ficus population density and age structure, the parasitism rate, the percentage of ovipositing females, and the crop damage were compared between disrupted and untreated plots. In both field trials, the number of males captured in mating disruption plots was significantly reduced by 86% and 95%, respectively. Mating disruption at the initial dose of 62.5 g/ha of active ingredient gave inconclusive results, whereas the dose of 93.8 g/ha significantly lowered the mealybug density and modified the age structure, which showed a lower percentage of ovipositing females and a higher proportion of preovipositing females. Mating disruption did not affect negatively the parasitism rate, which was higher in the disrupted than in the control plots (>1.5-fold). Crop damage at harvest was very low in both field trials and did not differ between treatments. Mating disruption was effective in wide plots protected with dispensers loaded with 150 mg of the sex pheromone, showing its potential to be included in the overall integrated control programs in Mediterranean wine-growing regions.

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

“…Complementary insecticide applications in mating disruption trials in commercial vineyards are sometimes unavoidable in order to control other primary pests (e.g. the European grapevine moth), reduce the spread of GLRaV, and prevent severe crop damage …”

“…This has led to a more widespread use of environmentally friendly control strategies, including mating disruption, which has been increasingly used as there have been no reports of any detrimental effects on beneficial organisms or risks of insecticide resistance , . Since its identification, the vine mealybug sex pheromone has been used in monitoring programs and tested in mating disruption control programs in the USA, Argentina and the Mediterranean Basin …”

“…The effectiveness of mating disruption has been frequently assessed by comparing the pest population density in untreated and disrupted plots . In addition, rates of mated females have also been used to evaluate the disruption of sexual communication in a number of moth species, often using sentinel virgin females .…”

A critical review of plant protection tools for reducing pesticide use on grapevine and new perspectives for the implementation of IPM in viticulture

“…Furthermore, MD did not negatively affect the parasitism rate. These results would appear to pave the way for setting up new MD multispecies dispensers, containing grapevine moth and mealybug pheromones (Walton et al, 2006;Cocco et al, 2014).…”

Key scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccoidea) of high economic importance in a Mediterranean area: host plants, bio-ecological characteristics, natural enemies and pest management strategies - a review

“…This new approach could be tested and applied successfully as an IPM program component in Tunisia in the near future. Furthermore, mating disruption, a technique using pheromone dispensers to reduce the ability of males to locate and mate with females, which proved to be very effective in decreasing VM densities in Californian and Italian vineyards Walton et al 2006;Cocco et al 2014;Langone et al 2014), has recently been tested against this pest in Tunisian vineyards (Mansour, unpublished data) and could, whenever possible, be incorporated into future IPM programs against the VM in Tunisia.…”