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PHEROMONE TRAP AGAINST THE MELON FLY (MIOPARDALIS PARDALINA
BIG.)
M.N. Jumayev, N.A. Anorboyeva
Almalyk branch of Tashkent state technical university named after Islam Karimov
110100, Republic of Uzbekistan, Tashkent region, Almalyk city, Mirzo Ulugbek street, 45.
e-mail.
Abstract:
The intensive development of agricultural production currently requires an
expansion of the use of chemicals to protect plants from insect pests, which in turn leads to
environmental pollution and irreparable losses in the biocenosis.The use of sex pheromones
in integrated plant protection systems leads to the need to develop a convenient pheromone
trap.
This article describes a method of controlling the melon fly using the pheromone
component 4 (4-methoxyphenyl)-2-butanone, 1,4-benzyldicarboxylate. A pheromone trap is
a design with bait, a rubber capsule dispenser, treated with a mixture of pheromone
substances. The results of using pheromone traps to monitor the melon fly in open ground
are presented.
Key words:
Adult, melon fly, egg pupa, caterpillar, rubber dispenser, 4(4-methoxyphenyl)-
2-butanone, 1,4-benzyldicarboxylate, pheromone trap.
The melon fly (Miopardalis pardalina Big.) is widely distributed across Asia and several
European countries, particularly in Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Cyprus, Turkey, Ukraine,
Afghanistan, Israel, India, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Pakistan,
Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. It primarily infests both wild
and cultivated plants of the Cucurbitaceae family. The melon fly can damage Solanaceae
plants at any stage of growth—from early sprouting to full crop maturity.
Throughout the year, the insect produces 3–4 generations. The flies emerge during the
flowering period of melons. Female flies lay their eggs in the skin of young fruit and ovaries,
as well as on plant leaves. The larvae penetrate the fruit flesh, where they feed on seeds and
juice, then leave the fruit and pupate in the soil.
The spring flight coincides with the fruit formation period of host plants. At this time, the
soil temperature—where the insects overwinter—reaches +20°C. The pest’s flight is
observed from early June to mid-October. The insects feed on fruit juice. The lifespan of the
imago is approximately 2 months. The puncture sites in the fruit flesh can serve as an
environment for the development of viral and fungal diseases. The first signs of melon fly
infestation are the appearance of small bumpy spots or just bumps at the puncture sites on
the fruit. Later, as the larvae develop, internal rotting of the fruit begins. Damaged fruits
become unsuitable for further use [2,4].
As a result of the conducted research, attractant substances of the melon fly Myiopardalis
pardalina Big. were isolated and identified. Their biological activity was determined
depending on the composition and quantity of the present substances. In addition,
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preparative doses and compositions of attractant substances with the highest insect response
were studied. The most effective pheromone trap design was identified, and
recommendations for pheromone-based monitoring were developed for practical application
within integrated pest management systems [4,5].
The study of the structural features of the compounds isolated from the melon fly
Myiopardalis pardalina Big. was carried out at the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry,
Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan (IBOC AS RUz). For this purpose,
methylene extracts from the sternal glands of the melon fly were analyzed using
electroantennography (EAG) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). As a
result of the study, EAG responses of males to one-minute fractions of female Myiopardalis
pardalina Big. were obtained, along with GC-MS chromatograms recorded using an Agilent
8890 GC gas chromatograph.
Based on the results, the structure of one of the food attractants of the melon fly
Myiopardalis pardalina was identified, with a signal at RT = 23.247, which corresponded to
the structure of bis(2-ethylhexyl) ester of 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid [3,6].
The behavior of the melon fly was also analyzed under field conditions using various types
of pheromone traps on cucurbit crops in the Karakalpakstan region. The experiments utilized
adhesive devices of the "Delta" type—triangular constructions made of laminated cardboard
with a replaceable sticky insert inside. A rubber capsule containing the attractant
(pheromone dispenser) was placed at the center of the sticky surface. Three traps were
suspended above the plants at a height of 20 cm. The sticky inserts were replaced with new
ones as they became contaminated.
The devices were placed starting from the appearance of the pest in melon fields during the
winter–spring and summer–autumn periods, which lasted from April 20 to June 10 and from
June 11 to October 11, respectively, over an area of 160 m². For bioassay testing, a mixture
of attractant compounds with the most significant response was used. Pheromone traps were
placed at a rate of one device per 5 m², with a pheromone mixture dose of 0.5 mg per
dispenser. The experiments evaluated the attractiveness of "Delta"-type pheromone trap
constructions, taking into account the melon fly population density.
The trials demonstrated that a total of 54 male melon flies were captured in 10
pheromone traps, with the “Delta”-type device capturing on average only 7–8 individuals.
Thus, the use of pheromone monitoring significantly improved both the yield volume and
the quality of the fruits.
Conclusions:
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The theoretical basis for the use of insect pheromones in plant protection lies in the
historically developed chemical interactions between plants and animals through the aerial
environment. Most nocturnal Lepidoptera, particularly the melon fly and the tomato moth,
have developed a highly sophisticated pheromone system, the chemical composition of
which is quite different from the component makeup of host plants.
Thus, the conducted study characterized the possibility of mass trapping of the
melon fly (Miopardalis pardalina Big.) in cucurbit crops over two seasonal periods. A
comparative evaluation of traps and dispensers with high insect-attracting efficiency was
also presented. The most promising was the mixture of 4-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2-butanone
and 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate in the pheromone trap design. All tested options are
recommended for detection and mass trapping of the melon fly under open-field conditions.
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