Evaluation of sex pheromone formulations to attract Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) adult males in Argentina

Abstract

Evaluación de formulaciones de feromona sexual para la atracción de machos de Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) en Argentina RESUMEN. Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith) es la plaga más importante del maíz en Argentina. En América su monitoreo se realiza con trampas cebadas con feromona sexual femenina sintética. Tal monitoreo tiene éxito variable, principalmente, porque la composición de la feromona sexual de poblaciones de áreas geográficas distantes es diferente y no se ha desarrollado un cebo sintético específico para cada área. Se desconoce la composición de la feromona sexual de las poblaciones encontradas en Argentina. El objetivo de este trabajo fue probar un cebo comercial (Hercon) y tres formulaciones experimentales (ChemTica) de la feromona, para establecer si alguna de esas formulaciones es mejor que la que se usa actualmente en el país (es decir, el comercial ChemTica). La atracción por las feromonas sintéticas se probó en un túnel de viento utilizando machos de diferentes regiones de Argentina. Además, se realizaron pruebas de campo en dos regiones distantes del país. Una de las formulaciones experimentales de ChemTica y la formulación comercial de Hercon provocaron la mayor atracción en las pruebas de túnel de viento. En las pruebas de campo, solo el cebo de Hercon capturó un número significativo de machos. Por lo tanto, si bien se hallaron cebos que evocan mayor atracción que el cebo comercial de ChemTica, la atracción y la captura, incluso con esos cebos, no alcanzaron valores altos. PALABRAS CLAVE. Cebo de olor. Manejo de plagas. Monitoreo. Plaga de cultivo. Túnel de viento. ABSTRACT. Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith) is the most important pest of corn in Argentina. Its monitoring in the Americas is carried out by traps lured with a synthetic version of its female sex pheromone. Such monitoring has variable success mainly because the composition of the sex pheromone of populations from distant geographical areas is different, and a synthetic lure has not been developed for each area. The composition of the sex pheromone of the populations found in Argentina is not known. The objective of this work was to test one commercial (Hercon lure) and three experimental formulations (from the manufacturer ChemTica) of the pheromone to establish if any of those formulations is better than the www.biotaxa.org/RSEA.

Cebos feromonales para la captura de Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) en cultivos de maíz adyacentes a cultivos de fresas

“…Los cebos EcoTap y Phero-SF contienen dos acetatos, Z7-12:OAc y Z9-14:OAc en proporciones muy similares. En contraste, los cebos feromonales comerciales evaluados de ChemTica, Trécé y Scentry contienen tres acetatos, Z7-12:OAc, Z9-14:OAc y Z11-16:OAc en diferentes proporciones (Malo et al, 2001;Bratovich et al, 2019). Durante el llamado, las hembras de poblaciones mexicanas de S. frugiperda emiten los tres acetatos (Z7-12:OAc, Z9-14:OAc y Z11-16:OAc).…”

A pheromone lure for catching fall armyworm males (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Mexico

“…At first glance, it seems that the addition of Z11-16:OAc to the binary blend of Z9-14:OAc + Z7-12:OAc interrupted the capture of FAW males. This result could also explain the erratic results of male capture by commercially available sex pheromones of S. frugiperda, which, generally, contain Z11-16:OAc (Malo et al, 2001;Bratovich et al, 2019). However, Z11-16:OAc did not affect the capture of FAW males when added to Z7-12:OAc and Z14:OAc in similar trials in Florida, USA, Brazil, and Argentina (Tumlinson et al, 1986;Batista-Pereira et al, 2006).…”

“…However, our results were similar to those reported by Unbehend et al (2014), who found that a blend of 300 g of Z9-14:OAc + 6 g Z7-12:OAc was the most effective to capture males of S. frugiperda in corn fields in several countries in North and South America. In Mexico, only Z9-14:OAc and Z7-12:OAc are needed to capture S. frugiperda males in corn and sorghum fields, it differs to other regions where it needs the addition of Z11-16:OAc and Z9-12:OAc (Malo et al, 2001;Bratovich et al, 2019). Future studies will be necessary to test the commercial sex pheromones of S. frugiperda to find the most attractive for geographical region.…”

“…However, the capture of FAW males by traps baited with these commercial lures are erratic when these were evaluated in Mexico, Central America and South America (Andrade et al, 2000;Malo et al, 2001;Batista-Pereira et al, 2006), suggesting that pheromonal communication of this moth species may vary geographically. Generally, the commercial lures of FAW are formulated with three pheromone components: Z9-14:OAc, Z11-16:OAc, and Z7-12:OAc (Malo et al, 2001;Bratovich et al, 2019). In Mexico, FAW females collected from corn consistently emitted Z9-14: OAc (65-90%), Z11-16: OAc (4-34%), and Z7-12: OAc (traces-5%) .…”

Advances in Control Strategies against Spodoptera frugiperda. A Review

“…The sex pheromone traps use chemical signals that travel by the air great distances to attract male insects, allowing for their monitoring [ 92 ]. To date, in glands of S. frugiperda females from different regions, it has been possible to identify active components of sex pheromones such as (Z)-9-tetradecenyl acetate (Z9-14:OAc) as a major component, (Z)-7-dodecenyl acetate (Z7-12:OAc), (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate (Z11-16:OAc), (Z)-9-dodecenyl acetate (Z9-12:OAc), and (E)-7-dodecenyl acetate (E7-12:OAc), the latter a characteristic active component in Brazilian populations [ 93 , 94 ]; although the variations in the presence of these components is low, various authors have described differences in the composition of sex pheromones of S. frugiperda depending on the geographical area, recommending the optimization and formulation of lures with specific pheromonal components for correct monitoring [ 95 ]. Monitoring based on pheromone traps has been shown to be effective to predict where and when an infestation of S. frugiperda might develop, detecting male populations as a sign of the subsequent appearance of eggs and larvae, allowing farmers to decide the time and number of pesticide applications, avoiding unnecessary actions [ 96 ].…”