Pest Management Science (2010) 66, 745-751

Sandra Vacas, Cristina Alfaro, Vicente Navarro-Llopis and Jaime Primo (2010)
Mating disruption of California red scale, Aonidiella aurantii Maskell (Homoptera: Diaspididae), using biodegradable mesoporous pheromone dispensers
Pest Management Science 66 (7), 745-751
Abstract: BACKGROUND: The control of California red scale, Aonidiella aurantii (Maskell), has encountered many difficulties, which has raised interest in alternative control methods. Up to now, the A. aurantii sex pheromone has been used only for monitoring. In a previous work the authors described a biodegradable mesoporous pheromone dispenser for mating disruption. To verify the efficacy of these dispensers, three field trials were conducted, and the results are shown in this paper.
RESULTS: The study of the release profile of these dispensers revealed a mean pheromone emission value of 269 µg day^-1 and levels of residual pheromone of 10% at the end of 250 days. During the second flight, an A. aurantii male catch reduction of 98% was achieved in the mating disruption plot of trial 1, 93.5% in trial 2 and 76.7% in trial 3. During the third flight, reductions were 94.1, 82.9 and 68.1% in trials 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Considering damaged fruit with more than five scales, reductions of about 80 and 60% were obtained in the mating disruption plots of trials 2 and 3, respectively, compared with an untreated plot, and a reduction of about 70% in trial 1 compared with an oil-treated plot.
CONCLUSION: Mating disruption has been found to be an efficient technique to control this pest, working equally well to a correctly sprayed oil treatment. Further studies are needed to improve the determination of the time of dispenser application and evaluate the effects of the pheromone on natural enemies.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Cristina Alfaro, Vicente Navarro-Llopis, Sandra Vacas

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.
	Aonidiella aurantii