Successful Application Of Inundative Releases Of The Egg Parasitoid Trichogramma Evanescens West. To Control The Olive Moth, Prays Oleae Bern

• ¹E.M. Hegazi, ²E. Agamy, ³S. Hassan, ³A. Hertz, ⁴W. Khafagi, ⁴S. Showel, ⁴L. Abo-Abdala, ¹A. Ziton, ¹S. El-Said, ¹A. El-Shazly, ¹A. El-Menshawy, ¹H. Karam, ¹N. Khamis and ¹S. El-Kemny
  
• ⁽¹⁾ Faculty of Agriculture, Alexandria University, Egypt
  
• ⁽²⁾ Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Egypt.
  
• ⁽³⁾ Institute for Biological Control, Darmstadt, Germany.
  
• ⁽⁴⁾ Plant Protection Research Institute, Sabahia, Alexandria, Egypt.
  

Abstract

Field releases of 900,000 wasps/ha/release of Trichogramma evanescens West. (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) were applied against the anthophagous (March 9^th, 26^th; April 4^th, 22^nd) and carpophagous generations (May 13^th, 27^th; June 10^th, 24^th) of the olive moth Prays oleae Bern. (Lepidoptera: Hyponomeutidae). A comparable olive grove (5 ha) of the same olive varieties (Toffahi and Shamy) was chosen as control site. Flight of the olive moth males was weekly monitored with sex pheromone traps. Estimation of infestation rates of the target pest on olive leaves, flowers, fruits and pre-mature fallen fruits as well as parasitism by T. evanescens were weekly recorded. Olive fruit yield of treated and untreated areas was carefully harvested and weighed. Interestingly, male catches in treated sites were greatly reduced from the 3rd release of the first flight to the last release of the 2nd flight of the olive moths. Reduction in male catches in treated plots resulted in decreasing number of eggs of target species on olive shoots in treated sites compared to the control site. The maximum percentage of parasitism in Prays eggs occurred on May 27th. Results of the efficacy of releasing the wasp on the amount of premature fallen olive fruits and fruit yield/tree (weight and number) at treated and control sites offered encouraging data concerning the protection of olive yield by the inundative releases of Trichogramma wasps.