A Technique to assess the Longevity of the Pheromone (Ferrolure) used in Trapping the Date Red Palm Weevil Rhynchophorous ferrugineus Oliv.

Abstract

The use of the aggregation pheromone, Ferrugineol (4-Methyl-5-Nonanol) has become an important component of the integrated Pest Management strategy currently adopted to trap the red palm weevil Rhynchophorous ferrugineus oliv., a pest which infects date palm Phoenix dactylifera L. throughout the Middle East. At present two formulations of the pheromone, Ferrolure and Ferrolure+ are widely used. In order to maintain the continuity and efficiency of the trapping system, it is essential to have a constant release of the pheromone into the environment and replace exhausted lures with fresh stocks. ldentification of exhausted lures becomes difficult, especially when the pheromone trapping program is undertaken on a Iarge scale. The present study aimed to develop an easy method to assess the field longevity of the lure, to find out the difference in longevity of lures during winter and summer and to assess the release of the chemical, when the trap is exposed to direct sunlight or is set under shade. This investigation, besides developing a handy scoring technique to assess the status of the pheromone lures, revealed that (i) the lures were exhausted faster in summer as compared to winter (ii) longer field longevity of the pheromone could be obtained by setting traps under the shade (iii) both Ferrolure and Ferrolure+ released the same quantity of the chemical into the environment under shaded conditions, but when traps had to be exposed to sunlight, Ferrolure+ lasted longer than Ferrolure.