Effect of stamens elimination methods on reducing damages of pomegranate fruit moth, Ectomyelois ceratoniae (Lep., Pyralidae)

Pomegranate fruit moth (PFM), Ectomyelois ceratoniae (Lep., Pyralidae), is the most important pest of pomegranate in Iran and other pomegranate producing countries. Because larvae feed inside the fruits, chemical control is not applicable. Several different methods including collecting and burning of infected fruits and biological control have been examined to control the pest, but none of them was effective. It has been recommended to prevent moths to lay eggs among stamens. In the present study, the effect of two methods of stamens elimination customary and hand-operating machine and application time were investigated in Saveh, a city of Iran. The result showed that the mean infection rates were 22 and 6% for control and 3 times stamens elimination by hand-operating machine, respectively. A comparison of flower and fruit dropping, fruit cracking and PFM infection indices indicated that using hand-operating machine could reduce fruit damage by 16%. It is concluded that stamens elimination by hand-operating machine in early June can be recommended.