Seasonal population fluctuation of pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella (Saund.) (Lep., Gelechiidae) as monitored by gossyplure¹

Abstract

Delta traps baited with gossyplure (a 50:50 mixture of Cis, Cis and Cis, trans isomers of 7,11‐hexadecadienyl acetate) as sex attractant were used to study the seasonal population fluctuation of pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella for two years (1981 and 1982). The results indicated that pink bollworm moths remained active throughout the year, with minimum intensity during the hot months (May–July) of summer. The maximum moth population was recorded in the month of October, in both the years. The moth emergence in March/April proved to be suicidal as there was no infestible fruiting bodies of preferred host in the field. The pink bollworm population was recorded even during the winter months which indicated that the pest probably does not enter into true diapause. These studies may prove helpful in planning an effective control strategy against pink bollworm. Zusammenfassung Untersuchung der saisonalen Populations‐Fluktuation von Pectinophora gossypiella (Saund.) (Lep., Gelechiidae) mit Hilfe des Duftstoffes Gossyplure Mit Glossyplure (50:50‐Mischung aus Cis, Cis und Cis, trans Isomere von 7,11‐Hexadecadienyl‐acetat) als Sexualduftstoff beköderte Delta‐Fallen wurden zur Untersuchung des saisonalen Massenwechsels von P. gossypiella 1981 und 1982 eingesetzt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, daß die Falter während des ganzen Jahres aktiv blieben mit einem Dichte‐Minimum während der heißen Monate Mai‐Juli. Das Maximum wurde in beiden Jahren im Oktober festgestellt. Im März und April geschlüpfte Falter starben ab, da es zu dieser Zeit noch keine befallsfähigen Pflanzen gab. Die Schädlingspopulation existierte auch während des Winters. Eine echte Diapause war nicht vorhanden. Diese Studien können hilfreich bei der Planung wirksamer Bekämpfungsmaßnahmen gegen den Schädling sein.

How much is a pheromone worth?

“…One of the first systems to use an action level based on capture with pheromone-baited traps was established for the pea moth Cydia nigricana ( Wall et al , 1987 ). Later, many other studies were conducted with equal success in agricultural, horticultural or forestry applications, against pest species including the European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis ( Laurent & Frérot, 2007 ), tufted apple budmoth Platynota idaeusalis ( Knight & Hull, 1989 ), lightbrown apple moth ( Bradley et al , 1998 ), scale insects ( Dunkleblum, 1999 ), Mullein bug Campylomma verbasci ( McBrien et al , 1994 ), grapevine moth Lobesia botrana ( Ioriatti et al , 2011 ), codling moth Cydia pomonella ( Madsen & Vakenti, 1973 ), Oriental fruit moth Grapholita molesta ( Rothschild & Vickers, 1991 ), pink bollworm Pectinophora gossypiella ( Qureshi et al , 1984 ), Old World bollworm Helicoverpa armigera ( Cameron et al , 2001 ), cotton leafworm Spodoptera litura ( Singh & Sachan, 1993 ), and yellow rice stem borer Scirpophaga incertulas ( Krishnaiah et al , 1998 ), just to cite a few.…”

Efficacy of PB Ropes (Synthetic Sex Pheromone) against Pink Bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders) (Lepidoptera: Gelichidae), Destructive Cotton Pest, in different Ecological Zones of Punjab, Pakistan

“…This phenomenon reduces the number of fertile eggs laid which reduces the population of the PBW resulting in less damage to the crop. Gossyplure has been demonstrated for monitoring purpose of P. gossypiella (Bariola et al, 1973;Qureshi et al, 1984;Buchelos et al, 1999) and is being extensively employed for mating disruption of PBW moths (Kehat et al, 1999;Urquijo and Manzano, 2002). High level of disruption in mating can be obtained by dispersing high doses of gossyplure in cotton foliage.…”