Effects of phenylacetaldehyde and (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate on male response to synthetic sex pheromone in Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Abstract

The influence of two synthetic plant volatiles on the number of male 'Helicoverpa armigera' (Hübner 1808) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) caught in sex pheromone-baited traps was studied in field plots in Australia. Phenylacetaldehyde and (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate were combined with synthetic sex pheromone in traps. Generally, most males were captured in traps baited with pheromone alone and more males were captured by the mixture containing (Z)-3 hexenyl acetate than that containing phenylacetaldehyde. At the three concentrations studied, neither volatile synergised the activity of the pheromone. Traps baited with the plant volatiles alone caught very few moths of either sex.