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Management of Cosmopolites sordidus and Metamasius hemipterus in Banana by Pheromone-Based Mass Trapping

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Abstract

Mass trapping Cosmopolites sordidus (Coleoptera, Curculionidae) using a pheromone-baited pitfall trap and Metamasius hemipterus (Coleoptera, Curculionidae) using a pheromone-sugarcane-baited open gallon trap was conducted in commercial banana. Four traps for each insect per hectare were placed in each of two 5-hectare plots of banana. Two additional 5-hectare plots were designated as controls and treated according to the plantation protocol. Capture rates of C. sordidus and M. hemipterus declined by >75 % over 10–12 months. In the banana growing region studied, corm damage was due primarily to C. sordidus, while only a minor amount of damage was attributable to M. hemipterus. Corm damage reduction in trapping plots was, thus, attributed primarily to C. sordidus trapping. In trapping plots, corm damage decreased by 61–64 % during the experiment. Banana bunch weights increased 23 % relative to control plots after 11–12 months of trapping. Fruit diameter did not vary between bunches harvested from trapping plots vs. control plots. Plant vigor, however, as determined by stem circumference at one meter above ground increased in plots with traps compared to control plots. Trapping for C. sordidus in two plantations of over 200 hectares each, reduced corm damage 62–86 % relative to pre-trapping levels. Insecticide control measures in place when the experiment commenced resulted in about 20–30 % corm damage, while use of pheromone trapping to manage C. sordidus lowered corm damage to 10 % or less. It is estimated that the increase in value of increased yield obtained in this trial (23 %) is about $4,240 USD per year per hectare, while the cost of pheromone trapping is approximately $185 USD per year per hectare. The trapping program becomes revenue neutral if bunch weights increase by an average of 1 % per year of trapping. Approximately 10 % of all plantation area in Costa Rica use the pheromone trapping system described here. The system also is used in Martinique, Guadeloupe, and the Canary Islands.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the technical staff of Fincas La Teresa, Palacio and Roberto Acon plantations near Guapiles, Costa Rica, for help. More than a decade elapsed between the execution of this work and the present publication. This work was presented at the 2000 ACORBAT Conference held in Puerto Rico in 2000. Although ACORBAT proceedings are normally published an exception is the 2000 conference. Several research groups cited in this paper were given and have cited this work.

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  1. Ministerio de Agricultura, Guapiles, Costa Rica

    D. Alpizar & M. Fallas

  2. ChemTica Internacional, S. A., Apdo. 640-3100, Sto. Domingo, Heredia, Costa Rica

    A. C. Oehlschlager & L. M. Gonzalez

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  1. D. Alpizar
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Alpizar, D., Fallas, M., Oehlschlager, A.C. et al. Management of Cosmopolites sordidus and Metamasius hemipterus in Banana by Pheromone-Based Mass Trapping. J Chem Ecol 38, 245–252 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-012-0091-0

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