Estimating the release rate of pheromone dispensers of stored product pests with the use of Solid Phase Micro-Extraction

Abstract: The use of environmental safe techniques in the management of stored product pests is receiving great attention due to the increasing public demand for healthy and pest-free food products and the limitation on the use of pesticides (Phillips, 1997).In this context, semiochemicals, in particular pheromones are important tools for monitoring the presence of several pest species. The pheromone efficacy in both trapping and mating disruption techniques is linked with the quality (purity) and quantity of semiochemicals applied. The latter is strictly linked with the pheromone emission rate, influenced by intrinsic (dispenser type used) and extrinsic (environmental) factors. These elements should be carefully evaluated to optimize the pheromone base strategies, in order to have a constant release rate during the whole flight period of the target insects (Byers, 2008).