The use of host plant volatiles as semiochemicals can be a viable option for the control or monitoring of agricultural insect pests. Host plant volatiles, either individually or as a blend of components, can be used as a stand-alone attractant or as a response enhancer for synthetic pheromone components. Additionally, with the increased use of pheromone components or blends in mating disruption studies, the utilization of host plant volatiles as the monitoring tool within the mating disruption treated orchards offers an additional powerful tool for growers. For the past five decades the polyphagous navel orangeworm (Amyelois transitella) has been a major insect pest of California almond and pistachio orchards, which suffer substantial economic damage due to both physical damage and introduced fungal damage caused by navel orangeworm larvae. Until recently the only viable, albeit inconsistent, option for monitoring navel orangeworm populations within these orchards has been the use of almond meal in egg traps. Over the past several years a synthetic blend of host plant volatiles, based on various almond emissions, has demonstrated effective attractancy of both male and female navel orangeworm in almond orchard field trapping studies. Developing fungal spores, ubiquitous to almond and pistachio orchards, produced two of the components within this synthetic blend. Evidence from studies within our laboratories has suggested a relationship among the navel orangeworm, its host plants, and the fungal spores. Discussed will be this unique relationship and the use of the semiochemicals produced by fungal spores and their potential role in developing host plant volatile blends in varying orchards.

Using a plant-insect-fungus relationship to develop a sustainable host plant volatile-based attractant for a major agricultural insect pest

248th National Meeting (2014)

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