Field evaluation of synthetic components of the sex pheromone of the tea pest Helopeltis cinchonae Mann (Hemiptera: Miridae)

Helopeltis cinchonae is an emerging pest of tea and causes severe damage to tea plantations in China. The female of H. cinchonae was reported to produce a sex pheromone consisting of two components, hexyl (3R)-3-acetoxybutyrate and (5R)-1-acetoxy-5-butyroxyhexane. However, their field application has not been evaluated in detail. The present study shows that a blend of both compounds loaded into a polyethylene vial at 0.2 and 2 mg, respectively, caught significantly more H. cinchonae male bugs than the individual compounds and all other tested blends. Sticky wing traps baited with the binary blend of compounds at optimized ratio and dosage caught more bugs than bucket funnel or delta traps and traps hung at a height of 10 cm above the tea shoots caught more bugs than those at other heights. The optimized traps and lures were used for monitoring the pest and two distinct population peaks of H. cinchonae were observed, the first one during mid-May to early June, and the other one in mid-September. Overall, the results of this study contribute towards an environmentally and eco-friendly approach to monitor and manage H. cinchonae in the field.