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Evaluation of an Attract-and-Kill Strategy Using Long-Lasting Insecticide Nets for the Management of the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug in Northern Italy
by
,
Antonio Masetti
1
,
Agata Morelli
1,*, 
Luca Fagioli
2,
Gianfranco Pradolesi
3,
Riccardo Nicoli
4,
Olmo Scagliarini
5,
Maria Grazia Tommasini
6 and
Michele Preti
7 1
Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy
2
Consorzio Agrario di Ravenna Test Facility, 48033 Cotignola, Italy
3
Terremerse Società Cooperativa Test Facility, 48012 Bagnacavallo, Italy
4
AgriTes, 40057 Granarolo dell’Emilia, Italy
5
Centro Agricoltura e Ambiente “Giorgio Nicoli”, 40014 Crevalcore, Italy
6
Ri.Nova Società Cooperativa, 47522 Cesena, Italy
7
ASTRA Innovazione e Sviluppo Test Facility, 48018 Faenza, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Insects 2024, 15(8), 577; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects15080577
Submission received: 24 May 2024
/
Revised: 24 July 2024
/
Accepted: 28 July 2024
/
Published: 29 July 2024
(This article belongs to the Section Insect Pest and Vector Management)
Simple Summary
Simple Summary: The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is causing extensive losses in agricultural products, especially tree fruit crops. Attract-and-kill (AK) strategies, which drive pests out of the cash crop to a circumscribed area where control interventions are applied, could be a more sustainable method for suppressing BMSBs while reducing the use of pesticides. This study assessed the effectiveness of an AK strategy against the BMSBs on pear, comparing sites with and without AK stations, consisting of pheromone lures coupled with insecticide-treated nets. The BMSB abundance was monitored using monitoring traps, and the fruit damage was recorded at harvest. In spring and early summer, the AK stations did not decrease pest density nor the fruit damage. Instead, after harvest, fewer BMSBs were detected in the AK sites than in sites without AK stations. Whilst this study supports the efficacy of the lures, the killing method needs to be refined and improved.
Abstract
The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), is causing extensive economic losses in tree fruit crops. Including attract-and-kill (AK) strategies targeting BMSBs in an integrated pest management framework could reduce the amounts of insecticides sprayed and benefit growers, consumers and the environment. This study evaluated the effectiveness of an area-wide AK strategy across an intensive fruticulture region of Northern Italy, comparing four paired pear sites with and without two AK stations ha − 1. These stations consisted of long-lasting insecticide-treated nets containing alpha-cypermethrin, baited with the BMSB aggregation pheromone and synergist. BMSB abundance was estimated using black-standing monitoring traps, and fruit damage upon harvest was recorded across all sites. The AK stations did not decrease the BMSB abundance nor the fruit damage, while after harvest significantly lower BMSB captures were detected in the AK sites compared to the control sites. Whilst the lures’ efficacy was corroborated by this research, the killing method requires improvement and refinement.
