Control of Rhyacionia zozana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) by Mating Disruption with Synthetic Sex Pheromone1

Hercon laminated-tape dispensers containing synthetic sex pheromone (a 95:5 mixture of E-9-dodecenyl acetate and E-9-dodecenol) of the ponderosa pine tip moth, Rhyacionia zozana (Kearfott), were manually applied on 57 ha of ponderosa pine plantations in southern Oregon. The nominal dosage was 13.5g of pheromone (AI)/ha from 100 releasers per hectare spaced at 10 m. Male moth response to pheromone-baited traps and to virgin females in mating tables showed nearly total disruption of female sex pheromone communication with males. After the mating-disruption application, larval populations were reduced 83.2%in treated areas. The frequency of damaged terminal shoots was lower in pheromone-treated plantations than in check plots.