Effectiveness of mass trapping and Trichogramma cacoeciae (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) releases against Ectomyelois ceratoniae (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in Tunisian oases

Abstract

This study was carried out to evaluate two biological methods for the control of Ectomyelois ceratoniae (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) which is considered to be the most important pest species in Tunisia. Mass trapping through 14 traps (water and delta) baited with sex pheromone, and Trichogramma cacoeciae releases with two doses: 25,000 Trichogramma (T)/ha (D1) and 50,000 T/ha (D2) were tested separately. Field trials were conducted during 2016 in oases cultivated by date palm trees and pomegranates. In this experiment the infestation rates for delta traps, water traps and control were 17.6, 32.9 and 87.3%, respectively. Therefore, mass trapping with 14 delta traps was the most effective on pomegranate fruits. After inundative releases of T. cacoeciae (D1: 25,000 and D2: 50,000 T/ha), the results revealed an impact of this parasitoid in inhibiting carob moth eggs hatching, and a significant reduction of the infestation rate of pomegranate fruits between 19.1 and 22.7% for both doses compared to control plot with 87.3%. However, these trials (mass trapping and Trichogramma releases) applied on date palm trees were not sufficient to limit economic losses.

Traditional oases in Northern Africa as multifunctional agroforestry systems: a systematic literature review of the provided Ecosystem Services and of the main vulnerabilities

“…Pests and diseases are reported for 13.7% of the cases and seem to represent a common and serious problem in all the five North African countries. This threat does not affect only palm trees (Idder et al 2015;Saidi et al 2013), but also other crops within traditional oases, such as wheat (Oumata et al 2020) or fruit trees (Sadraoui-Ajmi et al 2022;Zougari et al 2021).…”

Effect of cold storage on performance of Trichogramma brassicae (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) reared on Ephestia kuehniella and Ectomyelois ceratoniae

“…Ectomyelois ceratoniae (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), is the key pest of pomegranate orchards in Iran and many regions around the world and causes significant damage on nut and fruit products such as almonds, pistachios, pomegranates, stone and pomes fruits (Botha et al, 2004;Azema & Mirabzadae, 2005). Several control methods, including sterile insect technique (Chakroun et al, 2017), mating disruption , mass trapping (Mamay & Dağ, 2016), biological control (Memari et al, 2016;Zougari et al, 2021), mechanical control like fruit bagging and removal (Mamay, 2021) and chemical control (Warner et al, 1990;Mnif et al, 2013), have been examined to reduce carob moth damage in pomegranate orchards. However, the use of insecticides is not Journal of Entomological Society of Iran 2024  44 (2) applicable because the larvae are protected from insecticides inside the fruit (Kishani-Farahani et al, 2012).…”

Primary and secondary plant metabolites determining the suitability of pistachio kernels for the carob moth

“…Because larvae develop within the nuts, chemical control is ineffective and an integrated pest management (IPM) strategy is urgently needed to mitigate losses (Delvare et al, 2011). Modern IPM tactics employing sex pheromones for monitoring and mating disruption (Mamay et al, 2016; Vetter et al, 2006; Zougari et al, 2021) and the sterile insect technique have all shown promise for carob moth management, but could be more effective when combined with improved levels of resistance in the crop (e.g., Soufbaf et al, 2018).…”

“…Modern IPM tactics employing sex pheromones for monitoring and mating disruption (Mamay et al, 2016;Vetter et al, 2006;Zougari et al, 2021) and the sterile insect technique have all shown promise for carob moth management, but could be more effective when combined with improved levels of resistance in the crop (e.g., Soufbaf et al, 2018).…”