Disruption of sexual communication of oriental beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in highbush blueberries with retrievable pheromone sources

Abstract

The feasibility of disrupting sexual communication in oriental beetle, Anomala orientalis (Waterhouse), was evaluated by placing 50-75 ChemTica dispensers/ha (50-75 g active ingredient/ ha) that released (Z)-7-tetradecen-2- one, the major sex pheromone component of oriental beetle, or red rubber septa deployed at the same density, but loaded with only 5-7.5 g active ingredient/ha, in 2002 and 2003. In both years, pheromone trap captures in plots treated with dispensers and rubber septa were significantly lower compared with pheromone trap captures in untreated control plots. Significantly fewer grubs were found in 2002 in blueberry plants placed in the two disrupter treatments compared with untreated control plots. In 2003, fewer females recovered from disrupter plots were found mated compared with females placed in untreated control plot. These studies indicate that sexual communication in the oriental beetle can be disrupted by deploying retrievable dispensers releasing high rates of pheromone at lower densities than previously thought.