Bait-Free Attract and Kill Technology (Hook™ RPW) to Suppress Red Palm Weevil, Rhynchophorus Ferrugineus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Date Palm
Abstract
The red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is a lethal pest of date palm, Phoenix dactylifera L, and several other palm species worldwide. Pheromone (Ferrugineol) traps have been used to monitor and mass trap RPW in area-wide integrated pest management programs (IPM). However, these conventional food baited pheromone traps (FBPTs) have to be periodically serviced (change of food bait and insecticide solution) which is labor intensive. A bait-free method to ‘attract and kill’ RPW adults, Hook™ RPW, has been recently developed for weevil control in date palm. We tested this formulation against FBPTs for controlling RPW in a date plantation in Al-Hassa, Saudi Arabia. Weevil captures were not significantly different in the Hook RPW- and FBPT-treated plots, indicating that both equally sustained trapping efficiency during the test period of 3 mo. Using Hook RPW in and around heavily infested plantations could substantially reduce the cost of an area-wide IPM program due to elimination of trap servicing associated with FBPTs. Additionally, Hook RPW demonstrated the same level of attractiveness with or without the presence of food bait, suggesting that the formulation may be applied directly to nonsusceptible date palm trees without the risk of bait-lure synergy which could potentially incite damage to healthy trees.El picudo rojo de la palma (PRP), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), es una plaga letal de la palmera datilera (Phoenix dactylifera L.) y varias especies de palma en todo el mundo. Se han utilizado trampas de feromonas (Ferrugineol) para monitorear y capturar de forma masiva PRP en todo las áreas de programas de manejo integrado de plagas (MIP). Sin embargo, estas trampas convencionales con cebo de feromonas (TCCF) tienen que ser reaprovisionadas periódicamente (cambio de cebo y solución de insecticida), que es una labor intensiva. HookTM RPW, un método sin cebo para “atraer y matar” adultos de PRP que utiliza la Tecnologia Especializada de Feromonas y Aplicación de Señuelos (SPLAT TM) fue recientemente desarrollado para el control de picudos en palmera datilera. Probamos Hook RPW [=PRP] en relación de las TCCF para controlar PRP en una plantacion de palmeras datileras en Al-Hassa, Arabia Saudita. Nuestro estudio revela que el número de picudos capturados en parcelas tratadas con SPLAT y en las TCCF no fueron significativamente diferentes, lo que indica que ambos sostuvieron igualmente la eficiencia de atrapar los PRP durante el período de prueba de tres meses. Utilizando Hook RPW en y alrededor de plantaciones altamente infestadas puede reducir sustancialmente el costo de un programa de MIP para el PRP en todo el área debido a la eliminación del reaprovisionamiento de las trampas asociadas con las TCCF. Además, Hook RPW demonstró el mismo nivel de atración con o sin la presencia de cebo, lo que sugiere que la formulación puede ser aplicada directamente sobre árboles de palmeras datileras no susceptibles sin el riesgo de sinergía del cebo-señuelo que potencialmente podria causar daño a los árboles sanos.
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