Nonrecovery of fertility in partially sterile male Phthorimaea operculella(Lepidoptera : Gelechiidae)

The ability of 150 Gy-irradiated male sperm of the potato tuber moth Phthor imaea operculella (Zeller) to recover their viability after 10 successive m atings, or delayed mating for several time intervals was examined. Percenta ge of egg hatch indicated that neither the repeated mating nor the delayed mating could render the damaged sperm more viable. The irradiation did not influence the mating ability of male potato tuber moth; however, the succes sive and delayed mating have a great effect on the mating ability of this i nsect. The current study provided essential information necessary to increa se the efficiency of partially sterile male technique as a control method a gainst potato tuber moth.