The development of sex pheromone trapping of Heliothis armigera at ICRISAT, India

The development of a trapping system for monitoring Heliothis armigera male moths using a synthetic sex pheromone attractant at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi‐Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru, India, is described. This work started in 1977 using virgin females as baits but the Tropical Products Institute of London subsequently provided synthetic pheromone mixtures that attracted many more moths. These were initially dispensed through polythene vials but field tests showed that rubber septa on which pheromone was adsorbed were far more attractive. Eventually, small rubber burette stoppers, on which 2 mg of the pheromone was adsorbed, were adopted as the standard lures. Tests showed that these lures attracted moths for several months but that 4 weeks was the optimum use period. Several designs of traps were constructed and evaluated. Dry traps, particularly funnel types, were more effective than sticky traps. A white funnel trap was most efficient and was adopted as the ICRISAT standard trap. Subsequent research showed that the incorporation of a perforated baffle around the lure greatly increased catches. Traps placed just above the crop canopy in sorghum, millet, pigeonpea, chickpea, and groundnut caught more moths than at other heights. Dichlorvos used as a fumigant did not decrease catches and killed moths for over 4 weeks. ICRISAT standard traps are being used in a network to study the populations of H. armigera and their movements across the Indian subcontinent