Drug – bio-affecting and body treating compositions – Baits – attractants – or lures
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-05
2003-07-08
Pak, John (Department: 1616)
Drug, bio-affecting and body treating compositions
Baits, attractants, or lures
C514S546000, C514S549000, C514S552000, C514S703000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06589521
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a novel composition and use thereof for insect control. More particularly, the invention relates to a mating disruption composition comprising (Z)-11-tetradecenyl acetate and (Z)-11-tetradecenal in a weight ratio of about 50:50 to about 90:10, and more preferably in a weight ratio of about 75:25 respectively, and method of use of the composition as a mating disruptant for both the Omniverous Leafroller and Orange Tortrix moth.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
The Omniverous Leafroller (OLR) moth, scientific name
Plalynota stultana
. Walsingham, produces five to six generations a year and is a major pest of grapes. OLR larvae can directly reduce grape yields by causing injury to the flowers or the developing berries. Author(s), Grape Pest Management, Vol. Number, p. 126 (month, year). Larvae cause damage to grape clusters by creating injuries that create avenues for infection by bunch rot organisms such as fungus or bacteria. As the berries ripen, the rotting and fermenting fruit attract secondary pests such as the raisen moth, Drosophila flies, and dried fruit beetles that further exacerbate the situation. Id. The OLR moth also attacks cotton, alfalfa, celery, lettuce, tomatoes, red peppers, sugar beets, citrus, roses, carnations, chrysanthemums, asters and over thirty-five other crops.
The Orange Tortrix (OT) moth, scientific name
Argyrotaenia citrana
Fernald, causes the same kind of damage as the OLR moth in inland areas. Overwintering OT larvae feed on any soft, exposed vine tissue, weeds, and in grapes that have mummified on the vine. Spring feeding is on buds, canes, and webbed leaves. Larvae then enter the bunches and make nests of webbing among the berries. Besides injury to leaves and berry stems, their feeding on berries allows entry of bunch rot disease organisms.
Various strategies have been recommended to combat the menace of these pests. At the present time OT and OLR moth infestations are controlled by the application of a variety of insecticides, larvalcides, and Bacillus thurengiensis variants. These techniques are utilized with the intention of killing the moths at one or another of their growth stages.
Heavy dependence on pesticides, however, has created many problems such as environmental pollution, pesticide resistance and human health problems. Most alternatives to chemical pest control have some other limitations. For example, complexes of parasites and predators give appreciable biological control of some pests in unsprayed orchards. In commercial orchards, however, the control by these biological agents may not be sufficient to provide effective population suppression.
Consequently, insecticide applications are applied to reduce the infestations and protect the fruit. Repeated applications of insecticides to control pests may not be cost efficient in the long run. The natural balance of pest and predator may be upset in the orchard ecosystem, reducing the populations of natural enemies, and triggering the population build up of secondary pests. An environmentally friendly approach such as pheromone mating disruption could afford sufficient control of orchard pests while conserving natural enemies.
Mating disruption involves the use of pheromones. Pheromones are released by one member of a species to cause a specific interaction with another member of the same species. Pheromones may be further classified on the basis of the interaction mediated, such as alarm, aggregation or sex pheromone. It is the sex pheromone of insects that are of particular interest to agricultural pest management practitioners and applies to this case. Mating disruption is based on the principle that when the sex pheromone is released in the air in an orchard in sufficiently high quantities, the males are unable to orient to natural sources of sex pheromone (females) and fail to locate the calling female and insemination reproduction is prevented.
Various non-lethal pheromone mating disruption techniques have been developed for the OLR and OT moths. These pheromone applications have proven successful on the majority of the orchards to which they have been applied. For example, the University of California, Davis found that most of the disruptive activity of the OLR moth was provided by the components that are found in greatest amounts in living female OLR moths, the components being (E)-11-tetradecenyl acetate and (Z)-11-tetradecenyl acetate. (E)-11-tetradecenyl acetate and (Z)-11-tetradecenyl acetate combined in a 9:1 ratio disrupted pheromone communication more effectively than did either component alone. Shorey, Sick, and Gerber, Journal of Physiological and Chemical Ecology, p. 1270-1274 (October 1995).
What has not been developed, however, is one single pheromone blend effective in disrupting both the OLR and OT moths together. This is of particular significance since the OLR and OT moths are usually both present in the same location due to similar feeding habits.
Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a pest control composition that will reduce the use of a broad spectrum of chemical pesticides which are widely used in orchard pest management.
Another object of the invention is to provide a pest control composition that can be used with other biological controls without adverse effects.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a pest control composition that is not harmful to farm workers.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a pest control composition that will not leave a toxic residue on fruits.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent from the ensuing description.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
What has been discovered is a two component pheromone system by itself or in conjunction with other components that is significantly more effective at disrupting the mating of the OLR moth than existing pheromone formulations. Additionally, what has been discovered is that the same two component system of the present invention is also a superior mating disrupter of the OT moth.
It has been discovered that a composition of two compounds, namely, (Z)-11-tetradecenyl acetate and (Z)-11-tetradecenal, in a weight ratio of about 50:50 to about 90:10, and more preferably in a weight ratio of about 75:25 respectively, is a highly effective mating disruptant for the male species of both the OT and OLR moths. The composition demonstrates biological activity towards both the OT and OLR males comparable to or greater than that of the females of either species.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The mating disruptant composition of the invention requires the presence of two compounds, (Z)-11-tetradecenyl acetate (hereinafter I) and (Z)-11-tetradecenal (hereinafter II), in the mixture. The weight ratio of the compounds in the composition that is an effective mating disruptant for both the OLR and OT moths is about 50:50 to about 90:10 (I:II). The preferred weight ratio of the pheromone composition being about 75:25 (I:II). The composition may be dispensed alone or in combination with a carrier. The carrier may be an inert liquid or solid. Examples of suitable carriers are vegetable oils, refined mineral oils, rubbers, plastics, silica, diatomaceous earth, and cellulose powder. With these carriers, the dispensers can be loaded with larger amounts of the pheromone composition giving longer dispenser life without serious suppression of disruption.
It is contemplated that the pheromone composition of the present invention may also be used as a detecting agent, monitoring agent, or control agent for the OLR and OT moths. The pheromone composition may be used as trap bait or may otherwise be applied to a locus of the moths, that is, an area where the moths are present or where they may occur. The trap or lure may then be placed on or within close proximity to a tree or vine, that is, within 20 feet.
The composition of the present invention is used in an amount effective to induce the desired male response. In the case of an attractant response, for example, an effective
Fuzail Kalim S.
Meroni & Meroni P.C.
Meroni, Jr. Charles F.
Pak John
Scentry Biologicals, Inc.
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