Seasonal Distribution of Cotton Leafperforator: Pheromone Dispenser Persistence and Effect of Trap Height on Moth Catches in Pheromone Baited Traps

Abstract

The cotton leafperforator (CLP) Bucculatrix thurberiella Busck. is a sporadic pest in cotton fields of southwest desert area. The cotton leafperforator sex pheromone was identified and synthesized by Hall et al. (1992), thus providing a sensitive method for detecting CLP moths. Tests were conducted in 1992 and 1993 to determine the effective life of CLP polyethylene pheromone dispensers, correlate CLP male moth catches to cotton field infestations, determine the seasonal distribution, and effect of trap height on moth catches. The polyethylene pheromone dispensers were effective for about 4 weeks. The best correlation coefficients for 1993 data, were obtained by comparing CLP moth catches per night to main stem leaf damage at 6 node position from top of plants at field edges. Horseshoe stage CLP per leaf and trap catches had the highest correlation coefficient, r= 0.78. There was more than twice as much CLP damage to leaves at field edges when compared to leaves 10 m into the field. The first CLP moth capture occurred in early to late July and increased rapidly each year in August to 100 to 200 per trap night, but was variable in September, with a high of 300 and a low of 9 per trap night. CLP- baited delta traps placed 0.3 m above ground caught more moths than traps placed at greater heights from 11 to 21 August.