Evaluation of organic attractants to catch adult Opsiphanes cassina Felder, oil palm defoliator

Abstract

In order to evaluate the efficiency of some attractants for the capture of adults of Opsiphanes cassina, two experiments were carried out, in which a basic formulation of molasses, yeast, and urea were evaluated, in doses of 1 liter, 15 g, and 10 g, respectively. In the first experiment, the following treatments were evaluated: control (a mixture of molasses + 150 g of yeast) and five additional treatments, with the basic formulation diluted into 1.00; 0.75; 0.50; 0.25 and 0.00 liters of water. The second experiment was similar to the first one, but it had one more treatment, represented by the basic formula dissolved in 1.25 liters of water. 100 ml of each attractant in a recipient of 250 ccs were placed in a trap consisting of a transparent plastic bag of 1.00 m high and 0.60 m wide. The experiments were conducted at the Agropecuaria El Aguila, of the Palmonagas Company and they were evaluated with frequencies from two to four days. The treatments were arranged in a random block design with four replications. The values of capture were transformed in moths/trap/day to determine the insect population fluctuation in the essays, these values were analyzed statistically and their mean compared using the Tukey test at 5% of probability. The treatments with the basic formulation, with 1.00 or 0.75 liters of water, shown the largest captures, and there were not statisticals differences between them. This mix can be used in a program of Integrated Pest Management