Developing a Bioacoustic Method for Mating Disruption of a Leafhopper Pest in Grapevine

Widespread use of substrate-borne vibrational signals by insects presents a unique opportunity to develop alternative methods of pest control, enabled by better understanding insect behaviour and advances in technology. One such method is currently under development for use against the invasive leafhopper Scaphoideus titanus, a vector of Flavescence doree in European vineyards. Basic understanding of the vector’s sexual behaviour and observations of naturally occurring antagonistic interactions between males enabled development of vibrational broadcasts that obscured signal characteristics important for mate recognition and localization in small-scale field tests. The naturally occurring antagonistic interactions constitute acoustic noise that can be characterized, adjusted and broadcasted using modified acoustic technology. Steps in development of this technology to maximize reliability and energy efficiency are outlined, as well as plans for large-scale field testing and future perspectives. While several specific factors work in favour of using vibrational disruption in the system S. titanus (pest) and grapevine (host) and possibilities of direct transfer to other systems are limited, success of this approach is nevertheless hoped to stimulate the development of vibrational playback in general for control of other insect pests.

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