Use of Sex Pheromone for Control of Spodoptera litura (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Abstract

The tobacco cutworm, Spodoptera litura (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is one of the most destructive pests of agricultural crops worldwide. Control of this pest strongly relies on chemical insecticides. In this paper, we combined sex pheromone and insecticide control of this pest in Chinese cabbage field. The results showed that the adoption of sex pheromone trapping can effectively suppress adults, largely decrease larvae or egg mass density and damage rate of Spodoptera litura. Furthermore, either spraying times or costs of chemical pesticide against Spodoptera litura, were significantly reduced by adoption of sex pheromone trapping. Economic-cost analysis implied that the adoption of sex pheromone trapping can help farmers get higher benefits by lowering costs and increasing yields than mere chemical control. This suggests that use of sex pheromone can be a viable alternative in integrated management of tobacco cutworm infestation.