RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MALES CAUGHT WITH LOW PHEROMONE DOSES AND LARVALINFESTATION OF ARGYROTAENIA-PULCHELLANA

Sex pheromone traps for Argyrotaenia pulchellana Haw. (Lep. Tortricida e) were loaded with two low pheromone doses (0.1 and 0.01 mg) and test ed in apple and pear orchards of northern Italy's Emilia-Romagna Regio n to estimate the relationship between male catches and subsequent lar val infestation. While the lower dose captured fewer males, it registe red an enhanced correlation to larval populations and a decrease in th e number of episodes of high catches associated with no infestation. I n all likelihood, the pheromone traps baited at the lower dose have a smaller active space and captured only males within the orchard. Lures with 0.01 mg of pheromone can be replaced every 6 weeks, just as the 1 mg lures now in widespread use in Italy. A threshold of 65 adults ca ptured from the beginning of flight is proposed for the Emilia-Romagna IPM project.