Mating disruption using the pheromone Gossyplure is a well known technique employed to control the population of the Pink bollworm in cotton. This method of pest control reduces dramatically the deployment of hard pesticides on cotton producing farm land. Current products and current deployment practices in most instances fall short of reliability, and cost effectiveness. This proposed work is targeted at solving the key factors which currently inhibit expanded use of mating disruption for control of the Pink bollworm. We plan to formulate Gossyplure in the same polymer technology that the principal investigator used to successfully formulate attractants for other insect species. By increasing the amount of pheromone in each dispenser, higher than that currently used, we hope to drastically reduce the point source application, thus addressing the cost issue. The spacing of these dispensers will be varied and USDA/APHIS will measure the degree of mating of monitor females and the concentration of pheromone in the air at each spacing. By varying parameters including polymer type, loading, dispenser dimensions, and spacing, we plan to determine effectiveness and cost reduction in small plots. Phase II will expand this technology to large scale plots.Applications:Because we now have the ability to monitor the level of pheromones in a given open field, we can 1) determine the level of pheromone at which mating disruption occurs, 2) design a product that meets those levels for the required period, and 3) design a point source strategy that assures no unprotected area of the fields being protected. This would, if successful, lead to a superior product for use in Pink bollworm mating disruption programs, already part of cotton pest management, and also lead to additional investigations for similar applications against other pests.
