Management of Grape Root Borer in Florida with a Pheromone
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Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 104:3-5. 1991. MANAGEMENT OF GRAPE ROOT BORER IN FLORIDA WITH A PHEROMONE Susan E. Webb take place, and the population then declines as the number Central Florida Research and Education Center of fertile eggs decreases. A report by Johnson et al. (1986) I FAS, University of Florida showed that the pheromone of a related moth, peachtree 5336 University Avenue borer (Synanthedon exitiosa [Say]), could be used to disrupt Leesburg, FL 34748-8203 the mating of grape root borer in commercial vineyards in Arkansas and North Carolina. Since that time, an additional Additional index words. Vitaceapolistiformis, mating disruption. pheromone component has been identified from grape root borer (Schwarz et al., 1983) which when added to the orig Abstract. Disruption of mating through use of a high concentra inal pheromone greatly increased the attractiveness of the tion of pheromone was tested as a means of controlling grape resulting blend. Research has been underway to test this root borer, Vitacea polistiformis (Harris) (Lepidoptera: more specific pheromone blend (a 99:1 ratio of (E-Z)-2,13 Sesiidae) in a vineyard in Polk County, Florida. Pheromone octadecadien-1-ol acetate/(Z, Z)-3,13 octadecadien-1-ol ace tate) in several states in the Southeast, including Florida. dispensers were attached to trellis wires at a rate of 250 per In this paper, I report the results of a three-year study ha in a 1.5 ha vineyard near Kathleen which had a history conducted in a small vineyard in Central Florida to evaluate of borer infestation. A vineyard located at the Central Florida the effectiveness of mating disruption for control of grape Research and Education Center in Leesburg served as a control. root borer. In 1989 none of 21 female moths caught in the treated vin eyard had mated whereas over 70% of those caught in the Leesburg vineyard had. In 1990, 11.6% of females caught in Materials and Methods the treated vineyard and 87.5% of those caught at Leesburg A 1.5 ha vineyard near Kathleen, Florida with a long were fertile. Numbers of emerging moths were estimated by history of documented grape root borer infestation was counting pupal skins beneath vines on three occasions at two- chosen as the study site. No other vineyards were nearby week intervals during peak emergence. An average of 1.13 but wild grapes were growing in the vicinity. Seventy-five pupal skins per vine were found in the treated vineyard in percent of the vines were muscadine varieties and 25% 1989 and an average of 0.79 were found in 1991. Of the 99 were bunch grapes. Four blocks of the research vineyard vines examined in the treated vineyard, 29 were of the mus at the Central Florida Research and Education Center at cadine ( Vitis rotundifolia Michx.) variety 'Fry'. Over half the Leesburg (approximately 50 miles north of Kathleen), pupal skins found in 1989 were associated with this variety. which also had a history of borer infestation (Webb and In contrast, 10 vines of the variety 'Nesbitt' accounted for Mortensen, 1990), were used as a control. Approximately fewer than 1% of the pupal skins found. half the vines were muscadine varieties and half were bunch grape hybrids. The grape root borer, Vitaceapolistiformis (Harris) is the On 2 August 1989 and on 27 July 1990 pheromone most serious insect pest of both hybrid bunch (Euvitis spp.) dispensers, which resembled "twist ties," were wrapped and muscadine grapes (Vitis rotundifolia Michx.) in Florida. around the upper trellis wire at a rate of 250 dispensers The adult is a day-flying clearwing moth that resembles a per ha. Three monitoring traps (Pherocon® 1C wing style paper wasp, both in appearance and behavior. The larval sticky traps, Georgia Ag Chem, Swainesboro, Georgia), also stage, immediately after hatching, burrows into the soil in baited with the pheromone, were installed two weeks prior search of roots, moving to and feeding in larger roots as it to treating the vineyard with dispensers. At each site, 100 grows. It is thought that development from egg to adult vines were flagged and a circle around the base of each takes at least two years (Clark and Enns, 1964). Because of vine, approximately one meter in diameter, was cleared of the location of the feeding larvae, it is difficult to control weeds and debris to make it easier to find cast pupal skins. them with insecticides. The available chemical control meas Every two weeks during the period of peak borer activity ure (one application of chlorpyrifos [Lorsban 4E] per sea (mid September to late October) the area under flagged son) is aimed at killing newly-hatched larvae while they are vines was examined for pupal skins in order to estimate on or near the soil surface. Because the period of adult numbers of emerging moths. On alternate weeks, teams of activity is so long in Florida (Snow et al., 1991; S. E. W., three or four people spent the day capturing female grape unpublished) this treatment is only partially effective. root borers. Each activity was carried out in the same week The use of sex pheromones to disrupt the mating be at each location. Female grape root borers were either held havior of insects is a safe, very specific control measure, for a day in order to collect eggs and then dissected to which has been investigated for many species (Berzoa, confirm mating status or were dissected only. Dispensers 1976). A sex pheromone is a chemical message sent by the were not available in 1991 and only counts of pupal skins female that allows the male to locate her. If the atmosphere were made. Because of the two-year life cycle of the grape of the vineyard is saturated with a synthetic version of this root borer, the final effects of treatment in 1989 could not chemical, the male cannot find the female, mating does not be evaluated until 1991. Florida Agricultural Experiment Station Journal Series No. N-00503. This project was supported in part by the Florida Viticulture Advisory Results and Discussion Council. I wish to thank J. Wendell Snow for supplying pheromone and advice, W. Colson for the use of his vineyard, and J. Harris, P. Groves, At Kathleen, in 1989, male grape root borers were K. Kelley, and D. Yadon for excellent technical assistance. caught in monitoring traps in low numbers for two weeks Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 104: 1991. prior to installing the pheromone dispensers. Once the dis eight pupal skins were found under 100 vines in 1990 and pensers were in place, catches in the sticky traps dropped four were found in 1991) although moths continued to be to zero. Lures were changed every two months for the caught in sticky traps. In recent years the vineyard has not duration of the season but no moths were ever captured. often been treated with insecticide. Ants, including im Moth activity at Leesburg began during the first week in ported fire ants (Solenopsis invicto) are common in the vin August, peaked in late September (93-95 males per week) eyard at Leesburg and have been observed attacking emerg and continued into December. In 1990, dispensers were ing grape root borer moths. It is possible that predators put in place before moth activity began in Kathleen. Again, such as ants are responsible for the low numbers of grape no moths were captured in monitoring traps during the root borers found emerging from the Leesburg vineyard. season. Some sticky traps were baited with caged virgin The lack of response by males to the lures in monitoring female moths but males were unable to locate them in the traps in the vineyard at Kathleen indicates that the vineyard treated vineyard. atmosphere was permeated with pheromone from the dis At Kathleen, 21 females were captured in 1989 and 43 pensers and that the males could no longer orient to a in 1990. None of the females caught in 1989 and only specific source. The greatly reduced number of mated 11.6% of those caught in 1990 had mated. In contrast, of females also attests to the disruption of communication. the 17 females captured in Leesburg in 1989, 12 had mated Pupal case counts from 1990 indicated, however, that fertile (70.6%) and of 16 captured in 1990, 14 produced fertile females were still ovipositing in the vineyard in 1989, al eggs (87.5%). though at somewhat reduced levels. One possible explana Because the grape root borer takes two years to develop, tion is that the two week period of moth activity before the only the pupal case counts from 1989 and 1991 were com dispensers were put in place the first year was enough to pared. A paired t-test was used to determine if the differ reduce the effectiveness of the disruption. More likely is ence between years was significant. A significance level of the possibility that mated females entered the vineyard 10% was accepted because the variability associated with from wild grapes nearby. This was found to be the case in different varieties would make it likely that a true difference a test of mating disruption of peachtree borer (Snow et al., would be overlooked otherwise. The histogram shown in 1985) and was suspected in a similar study involving codling Figure 1 gives the frequency of each category of difference moth (Moffitt and Westigard, 1984). The results of Johnson in the number of pupal skins per vine found between 1989 et al. (1986) with grape root borer in Arkansas and North and 1991 in the treated vineyard.