Journal of Economic Entomology (1997) 90, 801-808

H.L. McBrien, G.J.R. Judd and J.H. Borden (1997)
Population suppression of Campylomma verbasci (Heteroptera: Miridae) by atmospheric permeation with synthetic sex pheromone
Journal of Economic Entomology 90 (3), 801-808
Abstract: Suppression of overwintering populations of Campylomma verbasci (Meyer) by atmospheric permeation with synthetic sex pheromone, 16:1 butyl butyrate:2(E)-crotyl butyrate, was evaluated in apple orchards in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. Five 1-ha plots were each treated throughout late summer and fall 1993 and 1994 with 1,000 polyurethane dispensers (118 mg load per dispenser). In 1993, dispensers were deployed singly. In 1994, 4 of 5 orchards were treated with 500 double-dispenser release points per hectare; the 5th orchard was treated as in 1993. Total pheromone applications modeled from laboratory release rates and hourly field temperatures were estimated to be 78.9 g/ha over 84 d and 80.6 g/ha over 75 d in 1993 and 1994, respectively. Compared with control plots, catches of adult males in pheromone-baited traps in treated plots from August to November in both years were reduced on average by 96%. Numbers of overwintering eggs laid in the fall were assessed the following spring by counting nymphs hatching from field-collected prunings and by limb-tap samples. In 1994, numbers of 1st-generation nymphs were reduced significantly on average by 71 and 81% in 4 of 5 orchards as assessed by prunings and limb taps, respectively; damage samples at harvest corroborated these results. Switching from 1,000 to 500 release points per hectare in 1994 lessened the impact of treatment on numbers of 1st-generation nymphs in 1995. Despite reductions in numbers of overwintering nymphs, results were not consistent enough to suggest commercialization at this time. Because recent evidence shows that the dispensers may have been deployed after females had begun to lay overwintering eggs, efficacy might be improved by implementing treatments in mid-July. This is the first reported example of atmospheric permeation with synthetic sex pheromone causing a reduction in the population density of a heteropteran.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Database assignments for author(s): John H. Borden

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
pheromones/attractants/traps
control - general

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Campylomma verbasci	Apple (Malus)	Canada (west)