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Plant-Insect Ecosystems

10-Minute Paper

P-IE: IPM On-Demand Presentations

The potential for mating disruption of Pseudococcus calceolariae (Maskell) (Hemiptera, Pseudococcidae) in apples

On-Demand
On-Demand

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Tania Zaviezo

    Full Professor
    Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
    Santiago, Region Metropolitana, Chile

    • Co-Author(s)

  • CB

    Carolina Ballesteros

    Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
    Santiago, Region Metropolitana, Chile

  • AR

    Alda Romero

    Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
    Santiago, Region Metropolitana, Chile

  • CC

    Colomba Castro

    Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
    Santiago, Region Metropolitana, Chile

  • SM

    Sofia Miranda

    Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
    Santiago, Region Metropolitana, Chile

  • JB

    Jan Bergmann

    Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso
    Valparaíso, Valparaiso, Chile

The citrophilous mealybug (Pseudococcus calceolariae) is an economically important pest in many crops and regions, and is mainly controlled using insecticides, with unintended negative environmental side effects. As the pheromone of this species has been identified recently, mating disruption arises as an attractive alternative control method. In this study, P. calceolariae pheromone, incorporated into a polymeric substance for its release, was applied in an apple orchard, in two non consecutive seasons (2017/2018 and 2019/2020). We observed a reduction in the males catches in traps after deploying pheromone compared to control plots. The duration of this effect was around one year. Mealybug abundance on trees was extremely low throughout the trials, so it was not possible to observe a reduction of populations or damage. This research shows that the use of this pheromone-based control  technique has good potential for controlling the citrophilous mealybug in fruit crops, with the advantage of being environmentally friendly and non-toxic. Mating disruption could be an important strategy to manage mealybugs in the future.