Performance characteristics of polyethylene tube dispensers containing a mixture of (E,E)-8,10-dodecadien-1-ol (1), dodecan-1-ol (2), and tetradecan-1-ol (3) were evaluated for suitability as a mating disruptant for codling moth control. The rate of loss of pheromone component from a dispenser at any time was found to be described by the equation: -dP/dt=(k 1 k 2 +k d)P whereP is the amount of pheromone component in the dispenser well;t is time;k 1 is the ratio of the amount dissolved in the dispenser wall to the amount in the dispenser well;k 1 is the ratio of the evaporation rate to the amount dissolved in the dispenser wall;k d is the rate constant for chemical decomposition. The evaporation rate,E, of a pheromone component at any time was given by:E=k 1 k 2 P For all three components during the first three weeks,k 1 decreased from ca. 0.25 to ca. 0.10 and was approximately constant thereafter. The decrease ofk 1 with time may have been caused by weather-induced cross-linking of the polyethylene. Over timek 2 was constant and was 1.27 ± 0.26 × 10(-3)/hr for1, 1.96 ± 0.33 × 10su-3/hr for 2, and 0.31± 0.05 × 10(-3)/hr for 3. Thek 2 was zero for2 and3 and 6.96 × 10(-4) for1. After 150 days in an orchard in 1991, 95% of1 was lost from the dispensers (61% of the loss was by chemical decomposition and 39% by evaporation). The heat summation units in a Yakima valley orchard during 1991 were 4.7% above the average for the 1980-1991 period, while during 1990 they were the highest for this period (26% above average). After the first three weeks of dispenser aging, the regression line half-lives for1 for 1990 and 1991 were 31.0 and 35.1 days, respectively. The difference in temperature between 1990 and 1991 did not affect the half-life of1 very much because so much of the loss was from photochemically induced decomposition. Based on an estimate of the required minimum evaporation rate for mating disruption of 2 mg/ha-hr and a half-life of 35 days for1, 2345 dispensers/ha would be required for one application per season; 944 dispensers/ha for two applications per season; and 734 dispensers/ha for three applications per season. If a different emission rate of1 is required for reliable mating disruption, then the number of dispensers required would be changed proportionately.

The half-lives (t 1/2) for evaporative loss ofn-alkyl andn-alkenyl acetates from rubber septa were determined at temperatures varying from 15 to 35 °C. The changes int 1/2 with temperature gave high correlations with the equation, Int 1/2 = ΔH/RT+y o where ΔΔH is the heat of vaporization,R is the gas constant,T is the absolute temperature, andy o is a constant. Half-lives changed dramatically with temperature and the degree of change with temperature increased with increasing molecular weight. For mixtures, component ratios changed with temperature, but the degree was modest. At 20 °C there was a 7.5-fold ratio oft 1/2 between members of the homologousn-alkyl orn-alkenyl acetates differing by two carbon atoms. The large change int 1/2 with temperature and with number of carbon atoms is a consequence of the thermodynamic relationships and the temperature range of pheromone usage. Therefore, a similar degree of change inf 1/2 with temperature and number of carbon atoms will apply to other formulations of the same type (those in which the rate of evaporation is first order). The values oft 1/2 at 20 °C mainly agreed very well with those reported previously at room temperature. However, our previously reported values for pentadecyl and hexadecyl acetate were revised. Half-lives were shown to depend on the vapor pressure of a compound in the formulation substrate, but not on the vapor pressure of the pure compound.