Drug – bio-affecting and body treating compositions – Baits – attractants – or lures
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-10
2003-05-13
Dees, Jose′ G. (Department: 1616)
Drug, bio-affecting and body treating compositions
Baits, attractants, or lures
C047S00101T, C047S00101T, C047S009000, C047S020100, C047S032000, C047S05810R, C047S05810R, C514S693000, C514S703000, C514S769000, C514S772000, C514S772100, C514S772200, C514S772300, C514S772500, C514S772600
Reexamination Certificate
active
06562331
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to mating disruption methods for the control of insect pests wherein a sex pheromone for an insect pest of interest is allowed to hang in the air, so that the mating behavior of the insect pest is disturbed to control the insect pest by interference with mating.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, sex pheromones used in the mating disruption method for the control of insect pests are attracting attention as nontoxic pesticides. According to this pest control method, a synthetic sex pheromone for an insect pest of interest is allowed to hang in the air at a sufficiently high concentration to make males incapable of recognizing the sex pheromone released by females, so that the mating behavior of males is disturbed to interfere with mating.
The most important factor in this method is the synthetic sex pheromone concentration in the air surrounding a group of plants in which the insect pest exhibits mating behavior, and higher concentrations produce a more powerful pest-controlling effect. Since the breeding period of insect pests is usually long, a synthetic sex pheromone is slowly released into the air, for example, with the aid of dispensers. Although higher rates of release give higher concentrations in the air, unduly high rates of release are uneconomical. Accordingly, it is necessary to maintain the highest possible sex pheromone concentration in the air while controlling the release rate of the sex pheromone from dispensers at an economical level.
However, even if an identical amount of a sex pheromone is released in different fields, the resulting mating-disrupting effect may often vary considerably. The reason for this is that, according to the differences in field conditions and meteorological conditions, the sex pheromone may rapidly diffuse from the field to reduce its concentration to a level insufficient for the purpose of mating disruption. In the case of a substantially level field, this problem can be solved by installing air flow shields having a height of not less than 30 cm above the ground in such a way that they lie in the neighborhood of the ground along the outer periphery of the field and they block at least the spaces between the rows of plants and/or the ridges. Similarly, in the case of an inclined field, this problem can be solved by installing air flow shields having a height of not less than 30 cm above the ground on the lower side of the field in such a way that they lie in the neighborhood of the ground at least along the lower side of the outer periphery of the field and they block at least the spaces between the rows of plants and/or the ridges (Japanese Patent Publication (JP-A) No. 6-14824/″94).
However, even if the above-described method is employed, the sex pheromone may show considerable variation in effectiveness and may fail to produce a satisfactory mating-disrupting effect in some cases. The reason for this is that the sex pheromone released from dispensers becomes adsorbed to the soil of the field and, as a result, its concentration is reduced to a level insufficient for the purpose of mating disruption. In such a case, the pest-controlling effect can be enhanced by increasing the release rate of the sex pheromone and thereby elevating its concentration in the air. However, this will cause a wasteful use of expensive sex pheromones.
The adsorption of sex pheromones to soil can occur without respect to their composition. However, among sex pheromones, the amounts of aldehyde type sex pheromones adsorbed to soil are greater than those of acetate type sex pheromones. Consequently, when a sex pheromone mixture composed of an aldehyde and an acetate is released with the aid of dispensers, the compositional ratio of the aldehyde and the acetate in the air may be different from their compositional ratio in the mixture released.
For example, where two or more sex pheromones are released by females, males cannot recognize them unless the composition of the two or more sex pheromones is within a specific range. Accordingly, in order to disturb the mating behavior of males and thereby interfere with mating, an important factor is that the composition of the sex pheromone in the air is within the appropriate compositional range of the sex pheromones released by females. However, if the composition of the sex pheromones in the air goes beyond the limits recognizable by males as a result of their adsorption to the soil, the mating-disrupting effect of the sex pheromones will be reduced to disadvantage.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a mating disruption method for the control of insect pests by means of a sex pheromone which can maintain the sex pheromone concentration in the air surrounding a group of plants at a high level for a long period of time while controlling the release rate of the sex pheromone from dispensers at an economical level, and can hence produce a more powerful mating-disrupting effect by use of a given amount of the sex pheromone.
The present inventors made intensive investigations with a view to solving the above problem, and have now found that, when a sex pheromone is released in a field sprinkled with water so that the soil has a water content of 20 to 100% during the breeding period of insect pests, the sex pheromone is prevented from being adsorbed to the soil and, as a result, the sex pheromone concentration in the air can be maintained at a high level for a long period of time. The present invention has been completed on the basis of this finding.
Moreover, the present inventors have also found that, when a sex pheromone is released in an open field where the surface of the soil is covered with a covering material that is less apt to adsorb sex pheromones than the surface of the soil, or in a house field where the surface of the soil and all or part of the inner surface of the house are covered with a covering material that is less apt to adsorb sex pheromones than the surface of the soil, the sex pheromone is prevented from being adsorbed to the soil and, as a result, the sex pheromone concentration in the air can be maintained at a high level for a long period of time. The present invention has also been completed on the basis of this finding.
The present invention relates to a mating disruption method for the control of insect pests which comprises releasing a sex pheromone in a field wherein an adsorption of the sex pheromone to a soil in the field is decreased.
The mating disruption methods for the control of insect pests by means of a sex pheromone in accordance with the present invention are highly effective in preventing the sex pheromone from being adsorbed to the soil and, as a result, can maintain the sex pheromone concentration in the air at a high level for a long period of time.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The present invention is more specifically described hereinbelow.
A first aspect of the present invention relates to a mating disruption method for the control of insect pests in a field sprinkled with water so that the soil has a water content of 20 to 100% during the breeding period of insect pests. The term “water content” as used herein is defined as follows: The water content of soil dried by heating at 110° C. until a constant mass is reached is regarded as 0%, and the water content of the soil impregnated with an increasing amount of water until the separation of water occurs is regarded as 100%. The water content of 100% comprehends the case in which the soil is covered with water as in paddy fields.
If the water content of soil is less than 20%, sex pheromones (in particular, aldehyde type sex pheromones) are apt to be adsorbed to the soil, so that the concentration thereof will be insufficient for the purpose of mating disruption. Moreover, where two or more sex pheromones including an aldehyde type sex pheromone are released with the aid of dispensers, an unduly lo
Fukumoto Takehiko
Ito Tatsuya
Mochizuki Fumiaki
Ogawa Kinya
Choi Frank
Dees Jose′ G.
Myers Bigel & Sibley Sajovec, PA
Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. , Ltd.
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