A field screening of pomegranate cultivars for resistance to the carob moth, Ectomyelois ceratoniae, and compatibility with its larval parasitoids

Abstract

The use of resistant cultivars could be an efficient pest management strategy against the carob moth Ectomyelois ceratoniae in pomegranate orchards. To identify possible resistant pomegranate cultivars, fruit infestation with E. ceratoniae larvae as well as the incidence of their parasitoids were monitored on 19 pomegranate cultivars in Isfahan, Iran. There were significant differences between cultivars in terms of larval infestation of fruits and the parasitoid activity on them. The cultivars S-Sefid-Saveh and Malas-Esfahan were the most resistant cultivars with 10% ± 0.9% and 15% ± 2.4% infestations, respectively. The most susceptible cultivars were D-hamomi-Pishva, Shahpar-Pishva and G-shahpar-Varamin with 80% ± 2%, 80% ± 0.88% and 79% ± 0.7% infestation, respectively. Parasitism rate was significantly different between cultivars as well, but this was not related to the cultivars resistance. Three parasitoid species, Apanteles myeloenta, Venturia canescens and Bracon hebetor, were collected and identified from the pest larvae, and A. myeloenta was the most abundant species. The highest rate of parasitism (6.8% ± 0.4%) was observed on the G-Shahpar-Varamin, which was the only cultivar from which all the parasitoid species were collected.

Keywords:

• crop resistance
• fruit pest
• parasitoid
• pest management
• three-trophic-level interaction

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Dr Astrid Groot, University of Amsterdam, for reviewing the manuscript and improving the English. We also thank Dr Jeno Papp, Natural History Museum of Hungary, and Professor Klaus Horstmann, Wuerzburg university of Germany, for their help to identify the parasitoid specimens.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was financially supported by the University of Tehran.