Field evaluation of the sex pheromone of the cacao pod borer (Conopomorpha cramerella Snellen) in the Philippines

Frontiers in Agronomy

Agronomy

Divina M. Amalin¹  Kris Lord T. Santos¹  Jose Isagani B. Janairo¹  Billy Joel M. Almarinez¹  Mary Angelique A. Tavera¹  Mercedes Arcelo²  Jesusa C. Legaspi³  Rhodina C. Castillo⁴  Aijun Zhang⁵ 

[1]Biological Control Research Unit, Center for Natural Sciences and Environmental Research, De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines

[2]Department of Biology, College of Science, De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines

[3]Bureau of Plant Industry - Davao, Davao City, Philippines

[4]Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology, US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Tallahassee, FL, United States

[5]College of Agriculture, Sultan Kudarat State University, Sultan Kudarat, Philippines

[6]Invasive Insect Biocontrol and Behavior Laboratory, USDA-ARS, Beltsville, MD, United States

关键词: cacao pod borer;    sex pheromone;    integrated pest management;    field evaluation;    Philippines;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fagro.2023.1165299

 received in 2023-02-13, accepted in 2023-04-28,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Cacao is a promising high-value crop in the Philippines and is considered one of the key players globally in providing the raw materials for chocolate making. However, before the Philippines can take this market opportunity, production constraints from various pests should be addressed. The cacao pod borer (CPB), Conopomorpha cramerella, is one of the major insect pests of cacao in the Philippines, which can cause up to 50% annual loss or even higher if proper management is not employed. Management of CPB heavily relies on chemical control but is becoming unpopular because of its high cost and health risk to people and the environment. A number of efforts have been made to develop sex pheromones to monitor and control CPB. A field bioassay of the new blend of CPB sex pheromones was conducted in southern Philippines to determine its efficiency and identify the appropriate trap height placement in a cacao field, which is important in maximizing the efficiency of the sex pheromone traps for inclusion in the integrated pest management (IPM) program of CPB. Pheromone lures at four different trap heights (1.0 m, 0.5 m above the canopy, 0.0 m or along the canopy, and 0.5 m below the canopy) and a blank lure (control) placed 1.0 m above the canopy were evaluated in terms of male CPB trap catches. Results showed significantly higher male CPB trap catches when installed at least 0.5 m above the canopy while minimal to zero male CPB catches were obtained from the control traps with blank lures, confirming the attractiveness of the new blend of the CPB sex pheromone in the field. This suggests the reliability of the pheromone-based method to monitor and control CPB and as a major component of the IPM program.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Amalin, Arcelo, Almarinez, Castillo, Legaspi, Santos, Tavera, Janairo and Zhang