Performance of traps baited with pear ester-based lures vs. pheromone baited ones for monitoring codling moth Cydia pomonella L. in Hungary

Traps baited with pear ester + acetic acid were capable of monitoring the codling moth although caught fewer specimens than pheromone baited traps. The general flight patterns recorded in pear ester + acetic acid baited traps resembled closely those recorded with pheromone traps. The only aspect in which pear ester + acetic acid baited traps lagged behind was early detection of first moth specimens occurring in the season. The great advantage of traps with pear ester + acetic acid over pheromone traps was that the former caught females in a high percentage. Further studies are needed to determine whether the sex ratio recorded in captures resembles reliably the natural sex ratio of the given population, or it is distorted. It appears that traps baited with pear ester + acetic acid present a useful alternative for monitoring codling moth especially in mating disruption treated orchards where pheromone traps do not work, or in any other situations where for any reason the capture of female codling moths is sought for. The lower efficiency of the pear ester + acetic acid bait can easily be overcome by applying more traps for monitoring at a given site

Pear ester based lures for the codling moth Cydia pomonella L. — A summary of research efforts in Hungary

For acceptable capture efficiency it was necessary to add acetic acid to pear ester for successful trapping of codling moth populations in Hungary. The activity of pear ester on its own was very weak and unsatisfactory. Pear ester+acetic acid baited traps caught on an average 25% (mean of 6 tests) of the catch in pheromone traps. Traps with pear ester+acetic acid were clearly advantageous as compared to pheromone traps in that they caught not only males but also females (both virgins and mated) in a high percentage. Traps baited with pear ester+acetic acid clearly outperformed high-load pheromone lures in orchards with mating disruption and should be the right choice for the grower for sampling populations of codling moth in a mating disruption situation. In orchards with no mating disruption the relative inefficiency of pear ester+acetic acid baited traps as compared to pheromone traps can easily be overcome by applying more traps than usual. Thus the overall codling moth numbers caught will become higher and would make any conclusions drawn more reliable. Traps baited with pear ester+acetic acid always caught more when set at the highest branches (3.0–3.5 m) than when set lower (1.5–1.8 m) on trees