When testing pear ester (ethyl‐2,4‐decadienoate) + acetic acid (PEAA) lures to catch codling moths, Cydia pomonella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), in Hungary, significant catches of the apple clearwing moth, Synanthedon myopaeformis (Borkhausen) (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae), were also recorded. This sesiid is one of the most important pests of apple in Europe. Pear ester plus acetic acid lures were attractive to S. myopaeformis no matter whether the two compounds were provided in separate dispensers or mixed together in a single dispenser, and a large percentage (40–80%) of the clearwing moths caught were females. In all cases, traps baited with binary combinations of PEAA caught far more than traps baited with either of the compounds presented alone. Traps with PEAA lures in some tests caught (females and males together) up to ca. 20% of the catch in traps baited with the synthetic apple clearwing moth sex attractant (all males). Consequently, the PEAA lure shows potential for future practical applications as a female‐targeted lure. To our knowledge, this is the first report of attractiveness of a lure containing pear ester for non‐tortricid Lepidoptera. Our finding suggests that the compound may be exploited as a host location stimulus by a wider array of insects than was indicated previously.

No abstract

For acceptable capture efficiency it was necessary to add acetic acid to pear ester for successful trapping of codling moth populations in Hungary. The activity of pear ester on its own was very weak and unsatisfactory. Pear ester+acetic acid baited traps caught on an average 25% (mean of 6 tests) of the catch in pheromone traps. Traps with pear ester+acetic acid were clearly advantageous as compared to pheromone traps in that they caught not only males but also females (both virgins and mated) in a high percentage. Traps baited with pear ester+acetic acid clearly outperformed high-load pheromone lures in orchards with mating disruption and should be the right choice for the grower for sampling populations of codling moth in a mating disruption situation. In orchards with no mating disruption the relative inefficiency of pear ester+acetic acid baited traps as compared to pheromone traps can easily be overcome by applying more traps than usual. Thus the overall codling moth numbers caught will become higher and would make any conclusions drawn more reliable. Traps baited with pear ester+acetic acid always caught more when set at the highest branches (3.0-3.5 m) than when set lower (1.5-1.8 m) on trees.

Summary Introduction: Irrigation plays an important role in the cultivation of medicinal plants. There is a lack of information on intraspecific variability of reactions to the effect of drought. Objective: The aim of the current study was to test the effect of irrigation on four sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) cultivars (‘Genovese’, ‘Kasia’, ‘Keskenylevelű’, ‘Wala’). Methods: In an open field experiment irrigated and non-irrigated treatments were set. Plants were harvested in full flowering stage. Before the harvest, the stomatal conductance and chlorophyll content were measured. The production-related parameters were recorded. In the plant material the glandular hair density, essential oil content and composition (GC-MS) and volatile composition (SPME-GC-MS) were identified. Results: Stomatal conductance of the irrigated plants was 2.5–4.5 times higher than in the non-irrigated ones. The chlorophyll content showed only slight changes. The irrigation had a positive effect on the production. The leaf to stem ratio was not modified by the watering. Irrigation negatively influenced the glandular hair density and the EO content, however it increased the EO yield by 40–129%, depending on the cultivar. Significant compositional changes were registered only in the EO of cultivar ‘Kasia’ for linalool, 1,8-cineole and tau-cadinole ratios. Conclusion: Irrigation increases the biomass and EO yield of basil while the composition of the EO is mostly unchanged. Only slight differences were observed among the cultivars.

Aleuroclava aucubae (Kuwana) (Hemiptera : Sternorrhyncha : Aleyrodidae), native to Japan, has been recorded for the first time in Hungary. Several individuals of the species were found on various ornamental plants (Celtis, Fraxinus, Morus, Sorbus, Ulmus) at five locations in the country in 2014 and 2018.The currently known distribution and host associations of the species are briefly discussed, along with an annotated checklist of the whitefly fauna of Hungary