Glimpses of Semiochemical Research Applications in Indian Horticulture 251
Plantation Crop Pests
Developing semiochemical based management
technologies is highly relevant for pests of plan-
tation crops where application of pesticides is not
practical. Several groups have been working in
this direction on several pests viz., rhinoceros
beetle (RB), Oryctes rhinoceros (= rhinolure),
red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus fer-
rugineus (= ferrugincol), black headed caterpil-
lar, Opisina arenosella, coffee white stem borer
(CWSB), Xylotrechus quadripes, coffee berry
borer, Hypothenemus hamper, etc. and integra-
tion of semiochemicals with IPM is already
in place (Table 1 ). Of three sex-specific com-
pounds, ethyl 4-methyloctanoate (E4-MO), ethyl
4-methylheptanoate, and 4-methyloctanoic acid
produced by male O. rhinoceros beetles, the
first is an aggregation pheromone. In field trap-
ping experiments, (4S)-ethyl 4-methyloctanoate
and the racemic mixture were equally attractive
and ten times more effective in attracting beetles
than ethyl chrysanthemumate (EC), a previously
recommended attractant indicating the potential
of using ethyl 4-methyloctanoate in operational
programs to control O. rhinoceros in plantation
crops (Hallett et al. 1995 ). Thus the discovery
of E4-MO as the male-produced aggregation
pheromone and its commercial synthesis led to
E4-MO rapidly superseding the earlier synthetic
attractant, EC. Several trap designs, lure sources,
dispensers have been tested (Bhanu et al. 2011 )
for use on a commercial scale.
Usually, the aggregation pheromones of RPW
and RB are used for monitoring and mass trap-
ping to manage the pest under economic thresh-
old level and these lures predominantly attracted
virgin and gravid females of RPW and RB. Fe-
male sex pheromone of black headed caterpillar,
O. arenosella was also identified and developed
in India by Pest Control India (PCI) with detailed
studies on dispensers, dosage and traps to suit
field conditions. Thus, it is already a quite estab-
lished fact that pheromone lures can be used as a
component of IPM against major coconut pests.
In case of CWSB, male produced sex phero-
mone, (S)-2-hydroxy-3-decanone was identified
as the major and potent component for female
attraction (Hall et al. 2006 ). Field trials in India
using different trap designs viz., sticky, cross-
vane traps, etc., along with different racemic
mixtures have been tried for trapping females
(Venkatesha et al. 2001 ; Hall et al. 2006 ). How-
ever, the pheromone-based trapping of females
does not seem to be a viable strategy in managing
the CWSB infestation in China as female beetles
are not directly attracted to the pheromone source
because of the complex mating behavior (i.e.,
attraction of potential mates by both sexes, re-
peated landing of a female next to a male, males
dashing to a nearby female, rejection of mating
attempts by females, post-mating female guard-
ing by males, and size-dependent mating suc-
cess of males). However, in India, pheromone
traps can successfully trap the female beetles
(Hall et al. 2006 ). Although the behavior of the
beetles from both China and India is similar,
larger plantation area and greater CWSB popula-
tion density in India may have contributed to a
higher pheromone trapping of females, compared
to China (Rhainds et al. 2001). Response of cof-
fee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei Ferrari
to host volatiles and their role in monitoring and
management has been studied in detail (Mendesil
et al. 2009 ; Da Silva et al. 2006 ; Saravanan and
Chozhan 2003 ).
In case of oil palm bunch moth Tirathaba
mundella Wlk., identification and testing of
male sex pheromone components viz., (3S, 6S)-
2, 2,6-trimethyl -6-vinyl-tetrahydro-pyran-3-ol,
4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-benzaldehyde (= vanil-
lin), 6,10,14-trimethyl-2-pentadecanone and
6,10, 14-trimethyl-2-pentadecanol elicited an-
tennal responses in female antenna (Yorianta Sa-
saerila et al. 2003).Spice Crop Pests
At present, the reality of using semiochemicals
for insect pest management in these crops are
limited by both in terms of quantum of original
research and standardization of IPM programs
which are certainly the cases. Of various insect
pests infesting spices, the scope of semiochemi-
cal application technology do exists for several