Use of Insect Pheromones in Vegetable Pest Management: Successes and Struggles 233
(Fig. 1 ). The population usually starts increasing
in October, reaches a peak in November, and then
gradually declines in December. Thus, S. litura
pheromone traps could be used to predict the
population build-up in the field, and to initiate the
IPM interventions. However, it cannot be solely
used as a pest-management tool because of its
polyphagy (several cultivated and wild plant spe-
cies as host in at least 40 families) (Brown and
Dewhurst 1975 ), and great potential to undertake
long-distance migratory flights (> 83 km for a
male S. litura moth in a day) (Tu et al. 2010 ).
Sex Pheromone of Eggplant Fruit and
Shoot Borer, Leucinodes orbonalis
(Guenée) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae)
(E)-11-hexadecenyl acetate (E11-16: Ac) was
identified as the major component of L. orbonalis
sex pheromone in China (Zhu et al. 1987 ). At-
tygalle et al. ( 1988 ) and Gunawardena et al.
( 1989 ) also identified the presence of this com-
pound from the sex pheromone glands of L. orbo-
nalis in Sri Lanka. In addition, they also identified
(E)-11-hexadecen-1-ol (E11-16: OH) as a minor
component. Cork et al. ( 2001 ) also confirmed the
presence of E11-16: Ac as a major component,
and E11-16: OH as a minor component in the
pheromone gland extracts of L. orbonalis from
India and Taiwan, and found that E11-16: Ac and
E11-16: OH (100:1 ratio) attracted significantly
more numbers of male moths. Hence, the L. or-
bonalis sex pheromone was included as a poten-
tial component in the L. orbonalis IPM program
that was implemented by AVRDC—The World
Vegetable Center in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of
South Asia (Alam et al. 2003 ). Because of the
monophagous nature of L. orbonalis, the phero-
mone traps are highly effective in mass-trapping
the male moths, when the traps are deployed in
the entire community in a region. Thus, the L.
orbonalis sex pheromone trap as a component
of IPM significantly reduced the fruit damage,
and increased the yield (Alam et al. 2003 ; Cork
et al. 2003 ). Due to its high success and demand,
about nine small and medium sized enterprises in
India are currently selling sex pheromone lures
and traps of L. orbonalis throughout the country
(Alam et al. 2006 ). With the recent opening of the
registration system for biopesticides in Bangla-
desh, several companies have got registration for
the L. orbonalis sex pheromones. For instance,
the sales of L. orbonalis pheromone lures and the
eggplant acreage under pheromone-based IPM
have almost doubled in 2012 compared to the
previous year in Bangladesh (Mr. Kbd. Md. Ibra-
him Khalil, Ispahani Agro Ltd., Personal Com-
munication). Hence, L. orbonalis pheromone-Fig. 1 Monitoring of Spodoptera litura population using sex pheromone lure during 2005–2007