ECONEX CYDIA SPLENDANA 2 MG 40 DAYS

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ECONEX CATALOGUE OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FOR FOREST PESTS

Sexual pheromone diffuser of the species Cydia splendana to attract males, with a duration of 40 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.

The larvae of Cydia splendana (also known as Laspeyresia splendana) cause important damages to the chestnut production.

Cydia splendana develops its activity during the fruit ripening phase, between the months of August and October, having several periods of maximum flight that can take place between the end of August and beginning of September.  The eggs laid are generally placed on leaves close to the chestnuts, although on occasions the eggs can be found at the base of the chestnut husk.

MORPHOLOGY AND BIOLOGY

The caterpillars reach from 12 to 16 mm in length. They have a whitish or pink colour and the first thoracic segment is dark brown.

It could be confused with another two species that can be present in the chestnuts: Pammene fasciana and Curculio elephas.  The Pammene fasciana caterpillar is much smaller (10 – 13 mm) and is a reddish colour.  The Curculio elephas larva does not have legs and is a creamy white colour with a black head.  It measures around 7 – 12 mm, is thick and tends to appear curved in the shape of a C.  The sawdust that surrounds it is of a thicker grain than that of C. splendana.

Cydia splendana has one generation a year.

The neonate larvae do not feed on the leaf, but immediately penetrate the husk, developing the five stages always on the inside of the same chestnut, where they excavate galleries full of excrements that they do not throw outside.  Therefore, apparently the affected nut is healthy (at the most it shows a small dent in its basal part), but falls to the floor prematurely.

The adult moths fly from August to October and generally lay their eggs on top of the leaves.  The first stage larvae penetrate the nut close to the joining area, then they bore holes in it destroying its interior.  Each caterpillar only attacks one chestnut.  The caterpillars' development is completed in approximately 3 weeks.

Once the larva is mature it abandons the nut and falls to the floor where, inside a silky cocoon, winter and spring pass by.  It pupates in July and reaches adulthood in summer.  In this way, it completes its development in a year.

The affected chestnut husks turn brown and fall prematurely, although after the harvest one can also observe caterpillars in the stored chestnuts.

DETECTION AND MONITORING

1 trap per hectare should be used, hung at the same height as the crops.  The traps can be placed on the trees or on a support for the same purpose. The traps should be placed in spring.

EXHAUSTIVE MONITORING

The males of this species are captured with the aim of reducing mating, so that the non-copulated females will have unviable eggs.  In this way, it reduces the population of the plague.

For exhaustive monitoring the number of traps per surface area is increased, according to the location and uniformity of the plots.

NECESSARY MATERIAL

A trap ECONEX WHITE TRIANGULAR without sheets (Code: TA118) or ECONEX DISPOSABLE WHITE TRIANGULAR (Code: TA242) and a pheromone diffuser ECONEX CYDIA SPLENDANA 2 MG 40 DAYS.

The trap ECONEX WHITE TRIANGULAR without sheets is activated by placing an ECONEX SHEET FOR TRIANGULAR (Code: TA248) at the base of it. The sheet is impregnated with a pressure sensitive adhesive, solvent free, in which insects are trapped.  The trap ECONEX DISPOSABLE WHITE TRIANGULAR is coated on its inner face with a layer of contact adhesive, solvent free, for the retention of the insects.

Both traps stand out above all for their simplicity of use, and will be operative until pheromone depletion or saturation of the sheet or adhesive surface.

The pheromone diffuser is placed inside the trap on the sheet or adhesive surface.

PERIOD OF USE

In spring 1 trap per hectare can be placed to detect the insect and observe the level of its populations.

Through established thresholds of tolerance in each area, the moment to adopt control measures is later defined.

SYMPTOMS AND DAMAGES

The nuts fall prematurely.

Destruction of the chestnut causing losses to the mature fruit.

The presence of attacked nuts reduces the quality of production and increases the cost of selecting the product for sale.

Risk factors:

Build-up of attacked nuts on the ground.

Generally, the attacks are more important during dry summers.

The damages are greater when the tree grows on shallow, poor and stony ground.

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.