Exploring the potential for using peripheral treatments with pheromone dispensers for controlling the grape berry moth (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) by mating disruption

Abstract: The potential for using peripheral treatments with hand-applied pheromone dispensers for controlling Paralobesia viteana (Clemens) by mating disruption was examined in commercial vineyards in the Niagara peninsula, Ontario, Canada during 2007. Four 1ha (100 x 100m) experimental plots, each separated by 100m, were established within each of three vineyards. Twenty-five synthetic sex pheromone-baited traps were deployed in each plot on a 20 x 20m grid to indirectly measure the effect of pheromone treatments on the mate locating ability of male moths. The application of 500 dispensers/ha reduced the mean total number of moths trapped by 96% compared to the untreated control, indicating a high level of mating disruption. Trap catch was reduced by 87% when 80 or 160 dispensers were applied at intervals of 5 or 2.5m, respectively, along the periphery of the 1ha plots. The results provide impetus for additional research to determine if peripheral treatments with pheromone dispensers can be used to control P. viteana.