Dual pheromone dispenser for combined control of codling moth Cydia pomonella L. and oriental fruit moth Grapholita molesta (Busck) (Lep., Tortricidae) in pears

Codling moth (CM) and oriental fruit moth (OFM) are very important orchard pests worldwide, and particularly in Victoria, Australia, where both species damage pome fruit. Individually CM and OFM have been controlled successfully by pheromone-mediated mating disruption, but treatment of pome fruit with full registered rates of two individual hand-applied dispensers for CM and OFM could be uneconomical for growers. Field trials conducted over three seasons in plots sprayed with insecticides consistently demonstrated that dual Isomate C/OFM TT dispensers, designed to disrupt both CM and OFM, were as effective as Isomate CTT and Isomate OFM Rosso dispensers applied individually in pears for control of CM and OFM respectively. The dual- and individual-species dispensers reduced moth catches and fruit damage to a similar degree. The results suggest that combined control of CM and OFM in pears by applying dual Isomate C/OFM TT dispensers at the full-recommended rate of 500 dispensers per hectare will be more economical than use of individual species dispensers, because the price and application cost of dual dispenser is about half that for individual dispensers.