Evaluation of field efficiency of the nanocapsule sex pheromone dispensers of carob moth Ectomyelois ceratoniae (Lep.: Pyralidae)

Carob moth is the most important pest of pomegranate in some countries including Iran. The use of sex pheromones is one of the methods to monitor and control of this pest. The major component of the carob moth sex pheromone ((Z, E) -9,11,13-Tetradecatrienal) is unstable, and the effectiveness of its mimic ((Z, E) -7,9,11-Dodecatrienyl format) is less than the sex pheromone. Nanotechnology can play an important role in increasing the efficiency of pheromones through gradual release. In this study, with the aim of increasing the stability of the sex pheromone in garden conditions, in addition to prepare the nanocapsule containing the major component of the sex pheromone, an experiment was conducted in a factorial design based on completely randomized blocks with two factors, including type of attractor (sex pheromone nanocapsule and commercial dispenser of mimic sex pheromone) and replacement time attractor (including one, two, four, and eight weeks). According to results, nanocapsule formulation had better performance than the mimic sex pheromone. The mean number of males attracted to nanocapsule at times of replacement attractor including one, two, four, and eight weeks were 1.93, 1.74, 1.51, and 0.6 insects per day, respectively, and to mimic sex pheromone at the mentioned times were 1.17, 0.89, 0.56, and 0.14 insects per day, respectively. Also, nanocapsule and mimic sex pheromone were able to attract insects for 49 and 21 days, respectively. According to the results of this study, the sex pheromone nanocapsule is recommended to monitor and control of this pest.