MANAGEMENT OF STRAWBERRY BLOSSOM WEEVIL AND EUROPEAN TARNISHED PLANT BUG IN ORGANIC STRAWBERRY AND RASPBERRY USING SEMIOCHEMICAL TRAPS “Softpest Multitrap”

Abstract

Many European growers of organic strawberry and raspberry have large losses in yield (sometimes >80%) and reduced quality of their products because of insect damage. Among the major threats are the strawberry blossom weevil (Anthonomus rubi Herbst), the European tarnished plant bug (Lygus rugulipennis Popp.) and the raspberry beetle (Byturus tomentosus De Geer). In organic soft fruit production there are no effective control measures for these pest insects. For many insects species pheromones and host plant volatiles are of major importance in mate finding and location of host plants for mating, feeding and oviposition. Thus, there is potential for using these insect-insect and/or insect-host plant interactions to develop new strategies and effective control measures for pest insects. In this project we want to extend our knowledge of these systems to develop effective control measures to control these pests in organic crops