Mating disruption of Mexican rice borers (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in Lower Rio Grande Valley sugarcane

Mating disruption of Mexican rice borers, Eoreuma loftini (Dyar), by synthetic pheromone applications in sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) was investigated in large-scale field studies. Mating disruption was assessed using pheromone trapping, mating tables, stalk dissections, and nocturnal collections of adults. Pheromone traps were inappropriate for monitoring mating disruption. Mating tables supplied useful information but overestimated effects of pheromone applications on mating activities of feral rice borer populations. Adult collections and dissections supplied the least ambiguous assessment of mating activities, but were interpreted most easily in the presence of other substantiating data. Pheromone applications formulated in rubber ships or microporous beads and applied in a polybutene-based adhesive did not result in appreciable levels of mating disruption, and did not control rice borer populations or reduce associated stalk injury levels