The use of pheromone traps to detect the onset of phytophage flight and estimate the size of the phytophage population is a well-established practice. Identifying the onset of flight behavior is important for the correct application of the confusion technique, also known as mating disruption, and for monitoring its effectiveness over time.
"Most traps," explains Benedetto Accinelli of Riff98, "once set in the field, are used for monitoring and in some cases, for some phytophage species, also for mass trapping. In both applications, monitoring and mass trapping, the operator is required to use them correctly."
These traps are also in great demand abroad, particularly in Germany.
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Pyralid damage (right ear obtained with correct phytophage control). Right Coretrap - net cone trap for pest monitoring. The traps can be used on any crop.
The following precautions should be taken:
- the use of traps at the right time, with the help of predictive models, and in the right number per hectare;
- the placement of the traps in the field in the right position and at the right height;
- weekly inspection and monitoring of insect traps;
- cleaning or replacing sticky traps and changing dispensers at recommended intervals.
"In recent campaigns, there has been some evidence that pheromone traps are not always correctly positioned in the field. Also, for various reasons, weekly insect trap inspections are not always carried out. The need to monitor phytophagous pests with pheromone traps doesn't just apply to maize," continues Accinelli, "but also to fruit, vine, herbaceous, industrial and forestry crops. Moreover, as the high spring-summer temperatures modify the biology of phytophagous pests and require precise timing of treatments, phytosanitary interventions for biological or integrated control must be increasingly targeted."
"Accinelli, who is responsible for the distribution of Geofin's 'Coretrao' net cone traps, concludes: "Riff98, a company with many years of experience in technical support for pheromone traps, offers a support service that includes in-field verification of functionality."
For more information:
Riff98
Benedetto Accinelli
Tel.: +39 335.5382197
For production and trap distribution:
Coretrap
Geofin
https://geofin.vr.it/