Control of the Plum Fruit Moth, Cydia funebrana (Treitsch.) (Lepidoptera, Tortricidae), by false-trail following

Abstract: Grapholita funebrana (plum fruit moth) is a serious pest in many plum orchards in Italy. Control of the plum fruit moth using the false-trail following technique or ‘sexual disorientation’ is here evaluated in two commercial plum orchards for baby-food production, based on a zero pesticide residue management system. The effectiveness of the false-trail following technique was demonstrated through experimental trials over two seasons in two orchards located in the Ascoli Piceno Province of the Marche Region (central-eastern Italy). Specific, biodegradable, pheromone dispensers, known as Ecodian CF™, were used for each application, with about 2,000/ha. During 2005, three dispenser applications were carried out, with two in 2006. The evaluation of this technique was through monitoring adult males by specific synthetic sex pheromone traps and visual inspections for fruit damage. Anarsia lineatella (peach twig borer), a secondary pest in plum orchards, was also monitored. The efficacy of Ecodian CF™ dispensers was compared with that achieved in commercial plum orchards sprayed with chemical insecticides or managed with mating disruption techniques. Over the two seasons, the control of the plum fruit moth in the experimental orchards was as good as or better than that in the check plots.