The push-pull approach using semiochemicals in pest control requires both an attractant and a repellent. Many previous studies have arbitrarily tested one or more known insect repellents or plant essential oils (EOs) hoping to find repellents of an insect pest. We used a comprehensive approach that synergistically tests in the field numerous natural volatiles from commercial EOs to identify repellents of the red palm weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), a worldwide pest of palms and date palms. Volatiles from 79 EOs in slow-release devices were divided into five groups and tested in traps with attractive pheromone compared to traps with pheromone alone. EO-treatment groups exhibiting repellency due to significant trap shutdown, were further subdivided into subgroups of four EOs each and tested further. Two groups of four EOs (cypress, desert wormwood, elemi, and Eucalyptus citriodora) and (niaouli, nutmeg, oregano, and orange sweet), or their corresponding mixtures of major volatiles, caused pheromone trap reductions of up to 92%. Further tests showed that seven of the eight EOs are similarly repellent as the corresponding subgroup. This systematic approach of successively testing sub-fractions of EOs in the field for trap shutdown should be useful to identify repellents of other insect pests of crops.
Keywords: Aggregation pheromone; Field testing; Insect repellents; Pest management; Push-and-pull; Semiochemicals.
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