Electrophysiological responses of both sexes of groundnut leaf miner, Aproaerema modicella (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) to synthetic female sex pheromone blend

Abstract

The efficacy of female-produced three-component pheromone blend of groundnut leaf miner (GLM) indigenously synthesized at the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad, was bioassayed by Electroantennogram Recording (EAG) and Coupled Gas Chromatographic-Electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) techniques. The female sex pheromone blend of GLM consists of (Z)-7,9-decadienyl acetate, (E)-7-decenyl acetate and (Z)-7-decenyl acetate in the ratio 10 : 2.0 : 1.4. EAG recordings of male antennae indicated significant responses to different doses of female-produced synthetic pheromone blend. Female antennae were found to be non-responsive to their conspecific pheromone blend by both EAG and GC-EAD techniques. However, characteristic positive, positive negative deflections were recorded in EAG with female antennae. When the three-component synthetic blend was subjected to GC-EAD analysis, strong EAD response was elicited from the major component, (Z)-7,9-decadienyl acetate at retention time 13.6 min, and two smaller bioactive peaks from (Z)-7-decenyl acetate and (E)-7-decenyl acetate at the retention times 12.0 and 12.6 min respectively.