Mating disruption for controlling the leopard moth, Zeuzera pyrina L. (Lep.: Cossidae) by ZEUTEC commercial product in the walnut orchards

Leopard moth, Zeuzera pyrina is a key pest of walnut in Iran. In this study, the efficiency of mating disruption by commercial product ZEUTEC was evaluated in East Azerbaijan and Ghazvin provinces. The study was conducted in 10 plots each with the area of one hectar mostly covered with walnut trees.Half of the plots were used as treatment applying ZUTEC and half for control (without any control method of leopard moth). In each treatment plots 300pheromon edispenser were attached on each tree and three pheromone traps were also installed in eah of all plots before emerging the adults at the beginning of the season. The number of larval entrance holes on 8 one-year-old branches of 15 trees, located at the center of each plot, was counted at the end of summer to assess the damage caused by the pest in experimental plots. The mean number of larva entrance holes on each branch were compared in different treatments by t- test. The pheromone traps did not capture any adult in the plots where mating disruption pheromone was performed during the experiment in both provinces while the traps caught the adults in the control plots. This result confirmed the efficiency of this product for mis-orientation of the males. The mean number of larval entrance holes on branches in plots with pheromone mating disruption and control were respectively 1.693±0.169, and 4.39±0.232 in Ghazvin province, and 0.174±0.037, and 1.696±0.134 in East Azarbaiejan province which were significantly different. (P