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10-Minute Paper

Plant-Insect Ecosystems

P-IE: IPM - Horticulture 2

Studies on the walnut husk fly (Rhagoletis completa) aggregation pheromone

Wednesday, November 8, 2023
10:00 AM – 10:12 AM ET
Location: Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, National Harbor 7
In-Person
The walnut husk fly (WHF), Rhagoletis completa Cresson, is a serious pest of walnuts in the United States and has increased in importance over the past 30 years. Early season WHF infestation results in reduced nut weight, edible yield weight and kernel colors as well as increased adhering husk, mold and shell staining in all cultivars. Control of WHF has relied on repeated insecticide applications. Initiation of the spray program and monitoring the efficacy of the spray program is based on captures of adult flies in yellow panel traps baited with an ammonium bicarbonate. An improvement in monitoring through increased catch would aid in determining the proper time to initiate an insecticide control program and aid in determining the efficacy of the control program. With the discovery of the male produced WHF pheromone lures showed that the lactones are aggregation pheromones, that the lactone lures in combination with ammonium bicarbonate lures increased trap catch over ammonium bicarbonate lures and lactone lures alone, and the load rate of lactone lures need to be at least 200 mg to have a field longevity of 4 to 5 weeks.