Mating Disruption of the Lightbrown Apple Moth: Portable Electroantennogram Equipment and Other Aspects

The New Zealand export apple industry produces very high quality fruit sold in over 60 countries worldwide. Apples must meet stringent quarantine and residue standards, with a zero tolerance of pests and damage in exported fruit. Insecticides are applied to control the key pests, which include the lightbrown apple moth (Epiphyas postvittana), the codling moth (Cydia pomonella), and four related native leafrollers, although only the lightbrown apple moth is abundant in all orchard districts (Wearing et al. 1991). Increasing consumer concern over food safety, particularly pesticide residues, has spurred the search for alternatives to broadspectrum insecticides (Wearing et al. 1993), although the development of integrated pest management for New Zealand apples has been underway for some time (Collyer and van Geldermalsen 1975). Insecticide applications also result in selection for resistance, with consequent potential for control failures and problems in meeting quarantine standards. This chapter will review aspects of field applications of lightbrown apple moth pheromone in New Zealand, including some new results from electroantennogram measurements of instantaneous changes in pheromone concentrations in treated orchards.