Like Pavlov's Dogs: A multi-agency research team has developed new management resources for dogwood borer

摘要

AS spring begins, apple growers from New York to South Carolina begin to scout for pests. Among those pests is the dogwood borer, a pest that originally attacked ornamental trees but has become increasingly damaging to apple trees. A heavy infestationcan girdle the base of the tree trunk, causing death in the worst circumstances. Over the last several years, a collaborative team of researchers from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USD A, and North Carolina State University (NCSU)have been delving into the chemical ecology of the male dogwood borer and examining the egg-laying preferences of the female dogwood borer. Their experiments have led them to discoveries that may eventually lead to the control of both males and females: a sex pher-omone to lure males away from possible mates, and an attractant that could potentially be used to trap females.