ECONEX AONIDIELLA AURANTII 2 MG 60 DAYS

Sexual pheromone diffuser of the species Aonidiella aurantii to attract males, with a duration of 60 days in normal field conditions.

Diffuser of natural rubber in capsule-shape. It is packaged individually in an aluminium sachet with labelled instructions. Once taken out of the sachet, the diffuser does not need any activation operation. Simply place it directly in the trap.

Aonidiella aurantii belongs to the Homoptera order, Diaspididae family and among the scales that attack citrus trees is considered to be the second most significant worldwide in terms of the financial damage it causes.

MORPHOLOGY AND BIOLOGY

The yellow newborn larva is mobile and moves along the surface of the vegetable until it finds an appropriate place to attach itself. It immediately starts to form a protective shield which increases in size.

The grown female has a circular shield of 2 mm diameter and is reddish brown in colour.  The shield of the male is longer.

It is easy to distinguish it from the other serious pests, such as Parlatoria pergandei (grey louse) and Cornuaspis beckii (thick serpeta), by the shape of the shield.  This is oval-shaped in Parlatoria and elongated like a mussel in Cornuaspis.  In both cases the exuvia are not focused.  The Aonidiella has a circular shield and its exuvia are focused.

The fruits attacked by Aonidiella do not show discolouration in the area where the shields are, unlike the serpeta and grey louse. The shields of the California red scale are spread over the fruit, while those of the serpeta and grey louse are mostly near the calyx.

However, there can be some confusion with Chryssomphalus dictyospermi (red crab) which looks similar even though there are some distinctive differences which can be noted in the field.

With a magnifying glass: Female Aonidiella do not have the ventral veil of Chrysomphalus. Chrysomphalus has more marked exuvia.

At first glance: Aonidiella is almost always in the fruit, very rarely in the leaves. Chrysomphalus nearly always in leaves and near carob trees.

The movable larvae show great appetite for the fruit, setting on it as early as the first generation. It passes through various stages until adult. Presents sexual dimorphism, being the shield of the male elongated,  adults have wings and do not eat , the output of males often coincides with a high percentage of young females. The female is viviparous, maturing eggs inside them, in numbers varying between 50 and 150. The females located on the fruit are more prolific as those found in the branches.

They usually present two generations a year: May-June and August - September, as well as  third one in autumn, sometimes incomplete, depending on weather conditions..

DETECTION AND MONITORING

Use 1 to 2 traps per hectare set at crop level. They should be placed on the trees or on a support for that purpose. The traps should be set in spring.

MASS TRAPPING

Mostly the males of this species are captured in order to reduce mating so that females that have not copulated will have non-viable eggs. This reduces the pest population.

The number of traps per surface area should be increased for mass trappings, depending on where the plots are and whether they are uniform in size. One trap can control a surface area of between 500 and 1,000 m 2. This entails a trap density of 10 to 20 traps per hectare.

At the edges of the plots will be necessary to place a barrier of traps, separated from each other from 10 to 15 meters.

NECESSARY MATERIAL

An ECONEX YELLOW CHROMATIC 40 X 25 CM trap, so that the attracted flies are retained on the surface of the trap.

The most notable feature of this trap is that it is simple to use, however the trappings depend on the saturation level of the adhesive sheet.

A sexual pheromone diffuser ECONEX AONIDIELLA AURANTII 60 DAYS, which is placed on the trap.

PERIOD OF USE

To achieve good control of the Aonidiella Aurantii, it is advisable to combine the two methods: detection and monitoring and mass trapping.

In spring you can place 1 to 2 traps per hectare to detect the pest and observe the level of their populations.

Through established thresholds of tolerance in each area, the control measures are later defined, in this case mass trapping. The threshold of tolerance for Aonidiella Aurantii is very low and varies according to the area. Generally it is around 3 captures per trap and per week. Moment in which we recommend to set traps all over the crop for mass trappings.

DAMAGES

The direct damage is due to the suction of the sap, weakening the tree. They can cause the branches to dry and in case of very strong attack, the death of the tree.

Indirect damage resulting in crop depreciation, caused by the presence of shields in the fruits, is also very significant. The clear preference this insect shows for fruit can lead to a very high number of rejects even with low pest populations.

The first generation settles on the fruit. The second emerges from it leading to an significant increase in shields numbers. New invasions can occur in autumn caused by the third generation.

RESULTS

If technicians or farmers use the traps and pheromones as described here and when the first generation of adults emerges, then the effectiveness of this control system is very good, as proved by data from many organic farms. When large crop areas are covered more than 95% of the pest is often controlled.

A factor limiting this system is when there are small farms in many places with neighbouring plots that have a high level of infestation of the pest.

Apart from some important basic rules in effectively controlling Aonidiella aurantii, each farmer/technician should find his/her own system of achieving this and he/she may experiment with this system even establishing his/her own tolerance thresholds.

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE NUMBER OF TRAPS REQUIRED

Pest population, adjoining crops, level of control required, etc.

An important factor is crop size. More traps are needed in small and irregular sized crops than in uniform plots with a larger surface area. Another important factor is the distance from other plots that have the same pest. In such cases plot boundaries should be consolidated, so a trap density of up to 20 traps per hectare may be needed. More traps may be needed in the case of mass trappings.

STORAGE OF THE DIFFUSERS

The diffusers must be kept in their original container and in a refrigerator at 4^oC, or in the freezer at -18^oC, in which case they will remain valid for 2 and 4 years respectively.