Gadi VP Reddy

Montana State University Western Triangle Agricultural Research Center

Conrad, MT 59425, USA

Recent Trends in Pheromone Research/Technology El manejo de cultivos hortícolas bajo técnicas de control

biológico y biotecnológico. Una apuesta de futuro

Pheromone based Research

at Montana

Small grain Insect Pests

Wheat Stem Sawfly

Wheat Midge

Click Beetle

Wheat Head Armyworm

Pulse Crop Insect Pests

Pea Leaf Weevil

Current Pheromone Based Research at Montana

Yellow Sticky Panel Trap for Wheat Stem Sawfly

Yellow Sticky Panel Trap Mean ± SE sawfly catch by each trap type at Kellog Farm. White Yellow Red Gray Black Green Purple Blue BucketStable Delta

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Wheat Midge, an Invasive Insect Pest in Montana

• Economical pest of spring wheat.

• Attack on developing kernels.

• Difficult to monitor visually since adults are very tiny (2-3 mm) and sensitive to local environment especially to wind conditions.

Pheromone based monitoring is one of the most successful example in Montana

Pheromone trap materials

How Pheromone Based System Work for Wheat Midge ?

Installing pheromone baited trap during crop

vulnerable stage

Monitoring midge male adult numbers

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Wheat Midge Population Trend at Golden Triangle, MT

Sampling period

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WTARC (Field A)Valier (Field B)Valier (Field C) Valier (Field D)

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WTARC (Field A) Valier (Field B)Valier (Field C) Valier (Field D) Ledger (Field E)Toole (Field F)

Dryland Irrigated

Wheat Midge Adult Activity Based on Pheromone Trap Catch

Wheat Head Armyworm

• Minor pest but occasionally cause serious damage to small grains.

• Attack on kernels.

• Very limited information available regarding monitoring and management.

Pheromone based system could be useful option to monitor this insect pest

Pheromone Based Research: Pest Monitoring

PHEROCON Unitrap in winter fields at WTARC, Montana

Adults Emergence Pattern at Choteau County, Montana

No Dose Response 1 mg Enough for Monitoring

Pheromone Based Research: Lure Dose Response

One-way ANOVA followed by Tukey test at 0.05 p value

Click Beetle

• Adults of wireworms called click beetle.

• Adults famous for “clicking” mechanism (i.e. click beetles).

• Wireworms are generalist pests consuming germinating seeds.

• Adults normally do not cause damage.

Difficult to monitor wireworms because of their habitat

Yatlor Traps for Monitoring Click Beetle in Montana

Yatlor Funnel trap designed specifically for pheromone trapping of click beetles (Photo credit: L. Furlan, Italy; Inform. Fitopatol. 10: 49–54, 2004).

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L.californicus H. bicolor S. aeripennisS.cruciata L. infuscatus A. mellillus

Total number of adults caught in Yatlor traps baited with European-based lures.

Pea Leaf Weevil, Sitona lineatus • Emerging as a serious pest of pulse crops

in Montana. • Adults feed on leaves and damage of

larvae on roots delays growth of vegetation and decreases the yield significantly.

• Monitoring population based on damage level is laborious, difficult and often unreliable.

Pheromone based monitoring could be alternative option

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Pitfall traps Delta traps Ground traps Ramp traps

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Development of Pheromone Based Monitoring

and Mass Trapping for Pea Leaf Weevil

Pea leaf weevils caught by different trap designs

Best Trap Design

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Rubber septa

Bubble

Unbaitedtraps

Mean ± SE adults/trap

Peas Lentils

Pitfall Trap in Relation with Lure Type and Crop Species

Best for Both Crops

One-way ANOVA followed by Tukey test at 0.05 p value

Hole in ground with granular insecticide and cheaper form of release

Aggregation Pheromone, 4-methyl-3,5-heptanedione. Impregnate pheromone in pellet of biodegradable (over a year or so) plastic

Cypermethrin granules or similar which would need to be already registered with EPA

Future Plan: Pheromone with Insecticide

A tractor will go along different rows and stamp a depression in the ground where a septa and insecticide granule will be dropped for pea leaf weevil control

Pheromone with Insecticide- How can we use it?

Pheromone based Research

at Guam

Banana Insect Pest

Banana Root Borer

Sugarcane, Palm tree

Insect Pest

New Guinea Sugarcane

weevil

Sweet Potato Insect Pest

Sweet Potato Weevil

Previous Pheromone Based Research at Guam

Banana Root Borer, Cosmopolites sordidus

• Banana root borer is one of the major pests of banana plantations throughout the world.

• Native to Malaysia and Indonesia but spread all over the world.

• This borer has become a serious problem in commercial banana farms in Guam and other parts of Micronesia.

• Yield loss can be up to 100% if the attack is uncontrolled.

Trap Type Effects on Adults Catch

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GTWL RTWL PTWL GTNL RTNL PTNLM

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• GTWL: ground trap with lure

• RTWL: ramp trap with lure

• PTWL: pitfall trap with lure

• GTNL: ground trap without lure

• RTNL: ramp trap without lure

• PTNL: pitfall trap without lure

Mean (± SE) numbers of adult Cosmopolites sordidus caught by ground, pitfall and ramp trap with & without pheromone

One-way ANOVA followed by LSD at 0.05 p value

Reddy et al. 2009. J. Chem. Ecol. 104: 111-117

Ground Trap Size Effects on Adults Catch

Mean (± SE) numbers of adult Cosmopolites sordidus caught by different size of ground trap

One-way ANOVA followed by LSD at 0.05 p value

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Reddy et al. 2009. J. Chem. Ecol. 104: 111-117

Ground Trap Color Effects on Adults Catch

Mean (± SE) numbers of adult Cosmopolites sordidus caught by

different colors of ground trap

One-way ANOVA followed by LSD at 0.05 p value

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Reddy et al. 2009. J. Chem. Ecol. 104: 111-117

Ground Trap Different Shade Effects on Adults Catch

Mean (± SE) numbers of adult Cosmopolites sordidus caught in pheromone-baited ground traps

of different shades of brown.

One-way ANOVA followed by LSD at 0.05 p value 0

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Reddy et al. 2009. J. Chem. Ecol. 104: 111-117 Reddy et al. 2009. J. Econ. Entomol. 104: 436-442

Ground Trap Location Effects on Adults Catch

Mean (± SE) numbers of adult Cosmopolites sordidus caught in

different location of trap.

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Reddy et al. 2009. J. Chem. Ecol. 104: 111-117

New Guinea Sugarcane Weevil, Rhabdoscelus obscurus

• Major pest of ornamental palm, betel nut palm, coconut palm and sugarcane.

• Larvae bore within the living tissue, producing frass filled tunnels that weaken affected parts of the host.

• Permit fungal pathogen invasion.

Trap Type Effects on Adults Catch

Mean (± SE) numbers of adult R. obscurus caught by ramp,

bucket, ground and pitfall trap with & without pheromone

One-way ANOVA followed by LSD at 0.05 p value 0

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GTWL: ground trap with lure

BTWL: bucket trap with lure

PTWL: pitfall trap with lure

RTNL: ramp trap without lure

GTNL: ground trap without lure

RTNL: bucket trap without lure

PTNL: pitfall trap without lure

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Trap Type Reddy et al. 2011. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 104: 594-603

Ground Trap Color Effects on Adults Catch

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Mean (± SE) numbers of adult R. obscurus caught by different colors of ground trap

Reddy et al. 2011. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 104: 594-603

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Strapped totrees

Between thetrees

Away from trees

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Ground Trap Location Effects on Adults Catch

Mean (± SE) numbers of adult R. obscurus caught in different trap

locations

Trap Location

Reddy et al. 2011. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 104: 594-603 Reddy et al. 2005. J. Appl. Entomol. 129: 65-69

Sweet Potato Weevil, Cylas formicarius

• Major pest of most serious pest of sweet potato.

• Weevil populations are likely to cause huge or complete loss of sweetpotato production in Guam and other Micronesian Islands.

Trap Type Effects on Adults Catch

Mean (± SE) numbers of adult R. obscurus caught by ramp, bucket, ground

and pitfall trap with & without pheromone

Trap Type

Pherocon unitrap with lure (PUL) Funnel water trap with lure (FWL) Ground trap with lure (GTL) Pherocon delta trap with lure (PDL) Pherocon unitrap without lure (PUN) Funnel water trap without lure (FWN) Ground trap without lure (GTN) Pherocon delta trap without lure (PDN)

Reddy et al. 2012. J. Chem. Ecol. 38: 846-853

Pherocon Unitrap Size Effects on Adults Catch

Mean (± SE) numbers of adult Cylas formicarius caught in pheromone-baited Pherocon

unitrap of different sizes

Reddy et al. 2012. J. Chem. Ecol. 38: 846-853

Uni-Trap Color Effects on Adults Catch

One-way ANOVA followed by LSD at 0.05 p value Reddy et al. 2012. J. Chem. Ecol. 38: 846-853

• Integrated control tactics for the sweetpotato weevil.

• Development of a trap for auto dissemination of fungal spores of Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae.

• Implementation and evaluation of a mass trapping experiment.

• Evaluation of comparative performance of pheromone traps with and without B. bassiana and M. anisopliae.

• Train growers, stakeholders and ornamental nursery firms about new integrated control tactics.

Pheromone Trap for Auto-infection system

WTARC Entomology Team Members

Principal Investigator: Prof. Gadi VP Reddy

Postdoctoral Researcher/ Research Scientist

Research Associate/Assistant

Graduate Students

Collaborator: Prof. Angel Guerrero

Acknowledgements