25 years of mating disruption in Switzerland

Abstract: The European vine moth (Lobesia botrana) and the grape berry moth (Eupoeciliaambiguella), are the two major lepidopteran pest insects in European vineyards. In the past thesetwo moth species were controlled by the application of insecticides, but over the last threedecades mating disruption has established itself as a popular alternative to insecticides inSwitzerland. Today this integrated pest management measure is implemented in more than 60%of Swiss vineyards. Moreover, our long lasting monitoring program shows that mating disruptionprotects vineyards better against grape moths than classical chemical control. Thus, it can beconcluded that the introduction of mating disruption was (and still is) a success story and thatSwiss winegrowers would not like to miss this sustainable and environmentally friendly pestcontrol strategy.