Spodoptera spp. monitoring in sugarcane: use of sex pheromone traps

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Abstract

Introduction. The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, is one of the world’s most devastating pests. Although originally from the Americas, this insect has become a global food security threat. The reason is that its polyphagia and adaptability combine with the effects of climate change. In Costa Rica, the species of the Spodoptera order, are considered minor pests in sugarcane production. Nevertheless, there is a knowledge gap in population dynamics of the moths of this genus. Objective. Monitor the populations of S. frugiperda, S. sunia, and S. exigua species in a sugarcane field. Materials and methods. The study was conducted in a sugarcane plantation of the variety CC 01-1940, located in Guanacaste, Costa Rica between February 2018 and May 2019. Sexual pheromone-baited traps formulated for S. frugiperda, S. sunia, and S. exigua were used, each pheromone corresponded to a treatment and ten replicates of each one were established. The abundance of each species was compared and correlated with several climatological variables. Results. The highest percentage of catches corresponded to S. frugiperda, followed by S. sunia, while the captures of S. exigua were marginal. For both S. frugiperda and S. sunia, the dry season months favored larger populations, so factors such as higher average temperature, thermal amplitude, and lower relative humidity were associated with higher captures in the traps. Conclusions. Increases in the average temperature and decrease in rainfall periods could increase the incidence of Spodoptera genus as pests in sugarcane production.