Abstract
Insect chemical ecology studies with key tortricid pests of several horticultural crops have increased the number of tools available to growers to apply more sustainable insect pest monitoring and management programs. These studies have demonstrated that the efficacy of sex pheromones, when used as monitoring tools and control tactics based on mass trapping moths, can be improved with the use of volatile organic compounds mainly released by host plants and acting as kairomones. While volatile sex stimuli usually guide the males to the females for mating purposes, host plant volatiles serve a much broader role including drawing one or both sexes to suitable hosts for mating rendezvous sites, oviposition, and as feeding cues. The aim of my PhD dissertation has been to develop and evaluate new kairomone-based blends attractive to both sexes of codling moth (Cydia pomonella L.) and oriental fruit moth (Grapholita molesta Busck) in pome and stone fruit crops in both Italy and the USA. In addition, the use of a ‘smart trap’ for insect pest monitoring by remote has been combined with such new kairomone-based lures to prospect a new technology-driven insect pest surveillance. Specifically, in this PhD, a series of new four-component kairomone-based blends have been evaluated for C. pomonella attractiveness in field trials, providing interesting combination to be further investigated for an enhanced attraction of both sexes. Some of such multi-component lures were tested in traps to remove C. pomonella female moths (mass trapping) in both apple and pear, significantly reducing levels of fruit injury. Other multi-component lures have been evaluated for G. molesta attractiveness in field, providing a pheromonekairomone combinational lure attractive for both sexes also in orchards treated with sex pheromone, where the sex pheromone baits alone do not provide a reliable pest monitoring. In addition, the use of the smart traps for remote insect pest monitoring with pheromone/kairomone-based lures has been reviewed and specifically investigated as a new technology-driven insect pest surveillance approach for C. pomonella in orchards with an assemblage on non-target pest species. Finally, a prototype of a new smart trap was developed in collaboration with a local company to monitor tortricid pests in orchards. In summary, knowledge gained from this PhD project has provided novel and effective tools to achieve a more eco-friendly pest monitoring and management based program through the combined discoveries from insect chemical ecology and new technologies.