Behavioral response of Anthonomus eugenii to volatiles from pepper reproductive structures

Anthonomus eugenii Cano is the most economically important pest of pepper (Capsicum spp.) in Mexico and other countries.  Its management requires efficient monitoring and control techniques. The reproductive structures of the plant attract adult weevils, so its volatile compounds could serve this purpose. In this research, the behavioral response of adults of A. eugenii was assessed to a single compound and binary, tertiary and quaternary mixtures of 14 synthetic volatile compounds previously identified in serrano pepper reproductive structures. Attraction effectiveness of the best mixture of volatile versus host aggregation pheromone of A. eugenii or combined with it was also determined. The insect response was assessed by pairwise choice experiments, performed in a Y-type olfactometer.  Each experiment consisted of two treatments. The proportions of insects responding to each treatment were compared using the binomial test. The results showed that a mixture of (E)-β-ocimene, D-limonene and 2-isobutyl -3-methoxypyrazine attracted (p ≤ 0.01) adults of both sexes. Males responded most to the mixture of host volatiles (p ≤ 0.05) and in combination with the aggregation pheromone of A. eugenii (p ≤ 0.001) than the single pheromone; in contrast, females showed no difference in their choice.