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Synthetic Co-Attractants of the Aggregation Pheromone of the Date Palm Root Borer Oryctes agamemnon

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Abstract

Laboratory and field investigations to identify and evaluate plant co-attractants of the aggregation pheromone of the date palm pest Oryctes agamemnon are reported. Volatiles emitted by freshly cut palm core and palm core with feeding males, were collected, analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry and evaluated in olfactometers alone or combined with synthetic pheromone. A collection of palm odor without male effluvia was attractive alone and enhanced attraction to synthetic pheromone in an olfactometer similar to that to a collection of palm odor emitted with feeding males and containing natural pheromone. Behavioral responses to collections of palm volatiles were correlated to the amount of volatiles material in them. Enhancement of the attractiveness of the pheromone was not correlated to chemicals specific to beetle feeding. The chemicals common to the active collections extracts were benzoate esters, mostly ethyl benzoate, anisole derivatives and sesquiterpenes. Blends of the most abundant components of the extracts were evaluated for enhancement of the attractiveness of pheromone (1 μg) in olfactometers at 1 or 10 μg doses. The mixtures were further evaluated by field trapping in Tunisia at 3–10 mg/day using reference (6 mg/day) or experimental pheromone formulations. A mixture of ethyl benzoate, 4-methylanisole and farnesol (1:1:1 w/w at 6.5 mg/day) enhanced captures in pheromone baited traps in 2014 and 2015 and this mixture was as active as the natural palm bait. The practical prospect of the result for the management for O. agamemnon, and other palm beetles is discussed.

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Acknowledgements

This paper is dedicated to Imen Said who managed the research in Tunisia and tragically died before work was completed. The research received financial support from The French-Tunisian University Cooperation Joint Committee (CMCU PHC Utique project no. 13G0927). We thank Johann Fournils and Samuel Dufour (M2i Life Sciences, France) for providing formulations of the aggregation pheromone, the Office of Development of Rjim Maâtoug that allowed field tests in their oasis, all the technicians from the Office, without whom the field work could not have been possible. We also thank the anonymous reviewers, Andy Mccourt (Lund University, Sweden), Meena Sriti Murmu (UMR iESS Paris, Versailles) and David Hall (NRI, University of Greenwich, UK) for their helpful comments and English revision.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unité de Recherche Biochimie Macromoléculaire et Génétique, Faculté des Sciences de Gafsa, Université de Gafsa, Campus Zarroug, 2112, Gafsa, Tunisia

    Narjes Hasni & Imen Saïd

  2. UMR 1392 iEES Paris, INRA, UPMC, CNRS, IRD, Paris Diderot, UPEC, Route de Saint- Cyr, F-78026, Versailles, France

    Centina Pinier, Philippe Couzi, Brigitte Frérot & Didier Rochat

  3. Laboratory of Biochemistry, UR03/ES-08 ‘Human Nutrition and Metabolic Disorders’ Faculty of Medicine, 5019, Monastir, Tunisia

    Cheraief Imed

  4. Office of Development of Rjim Maâtoug, Avenue Salah Ben Youssef, 4200, Kebili, Tunisia

    Monêem Ouhichi

  5. Institut Supérieur Agronomique de Chott-Mariem, 4042, Sousse, Tunisia

    Brahim Chermiti

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  1. Narjes Hasni
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  2. Centina Pinier
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  3. Cheraief Imed
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  4. Monêem Ouhichi
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  5. Philippe Couzi
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  6. Brahim Chermiti
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  7. Brigitte Frérot
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  8. Imen Saïd
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  9. Didier Rochat
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Correspondence to Didier Rochat.

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Imen Saïd is deceased.

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Hasni, N., Pinier, C., Imed, C. et al. Synthetic Co-Attractants of the Aggregation Pheromone of the Date Palm Root Borer Oryctes agamemnon . J Chem Ecol 43, 631–643 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-017-0862-8

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