Benzaldehyde: an alfalfa-related compound for the spring attraction of the pest weevil Sitona humeralis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

A - Papers appearing in refereed journals

Lohonyai, Zs., Vuts, J., Karpati, Zs., Koczor, S., Domingue, M.J., Fail, J., Birkett, M. A., Toth, M. and Imrei, Z. 2019. Benzaldehyde: an alfalfa-related compound for the spring attraction of the pest weevil Sitona humeralis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Pest Management Science. 75 (12), p. 3153–3159. https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.5431

AuthorsLohonyai, Zs., Vuts, J., Karpati, Zs., Koczor, S., Domingue, M.J., Fail, J., Birkett, M. A., Toth, M. and Imrei, Z.
Abstract

BACKGROUND: Sitona weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) are a species complex comprising pests of many leguminous crops
worldwide, causing damage to young plants as adults and to rootlets as larvae, resulting in significant yield losses. Timely detection of migrating adult weevils is needed to determine when deployment of control measures becomes necessary. With the aim of developing plant volatile-based lures for Sitona spp. detection, we investigated the responses of S. humeralis to host plant-related aromatic compounds.
RESULTS: In olfactometer studies, both male and female S. humeralis responded positively to the odour of alfalfa flowers, a source of aromatic volatiles. In single sensillum recordings, basiconic sensilla located on the third and fourth terminal segments of the antennal club of both sexes were found to respond to benzaldehyde at doses of 10−5 and 10−4 g, suggesting that the weevil is able to detect this compound at the peripheral sensory level. In field studies, S. humeralis was attracted to benzaldehyde in the spring, but not in the autumn.
CONCLUSION: Benzaldehyde, as described in this study, may be a suitable candidate for the development of monitoring tools
for S. humeralis.

KeywordsSitona; Curculionidae; plant volatile; chemical communication; benzaldehyde
Year of Publication2019
JournalPest Management Science
Journal citation75 (12), p. 3153–3159
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.5431
Open accessPublished as non-open access
FunderBBSRC Industrial Strategy Challenge
Funder project or codeBBSRC Strategic Programme in Smart Crop Protection
Accepted author manuscript
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Print06 Nov 2019
Online07 May 2019
PublisherWiley
ISSN1526-498X

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