EFFICIENCY OF THREE TRAP DESIGNS FOR THE CAPTURE OF Opsiphanes cassina fabricii (BOISDUVAL) IN Elaeis guineensis JACQ, AS AN ORGANIC ALTERNATIVE

Abstract

The efficiency of three designs for traps used in the capture of Opsiphanes cassina fabricii adults, pest of the palm oil (Elaeis guineensis Jacq), was evaluated, and its population fluctuation during the study period was explored. The study was carried out in a 12 ha plantation in the municipalities of Cárdenas, Tabasco, México. The designs consisted in: (1) one plastic bag of 90X60 cm; (2) one 5 L container of barrel shape with 1 funnel, and (3) a rectangular box of 10 L with four funnels. In each trap, 0.5 kg of mature banana (Musa sp.) was used as bait. A complete random block design with three repetitions was used. The insects captured were collected each week, from June to August, 2008. 972 specimens of O. cassina were captured (546 males and 426 females), 69.2 % corresponded to the rectangular trap, 23.5 % to the barrel trap, and 7.2 % to the bag trap. A significant difference was found between treatments (Tukey, p?0.05). The population fluctuation presented a similar behavior with the three traps.