Abstract
The tomato pinworm, Keiferia lycopersicella (Walsingham), is a major pest of tomatoes in Florida but is manageable with the mating disruption technique. Four types of dispensers and a micro-encapsulated (MEC) liquid formulation were compared with a control and the standard fiber/adhesive formulation for disrupting mating in two replicated experiments in commercial tomato fields in 1992. A laminate tag, the MEC and another liquid formulation also were compared with a control in three replicated experiments at the Gulf Coast Research & Education Center during 1996-97. Virgin sentinel females were used in 1992 and pheromone traps were used in all experiments to estimate efficacy of each dispenser or formulation. In 1992 all dispensers and the MEC formulation were as effective as the standard fiber/adhesive formulation. Some dispensers completely inhibited mating up to 6 weeks while the fiber/adhesive formulation completely inhibited mating 4 weeks. In all experiments some dispensers reduced trap catches below the established threshold of 5 moths/trap/night for 5-11 weeks while liquid formulations reduced trap catches at or below the thresh old for 4-11 weeks. The fiber/adhesive formulation reduced trap catches below the threshold for 5-8 weeks. Thus, the easy-to-apply dispensers and liquid formulations were found to be viable alternatives to the difficult-to-apply fiber/adhesive formulation.
