The innovative Box T Pro Press mating disruption pheromone technology now enables an exciting new control option for box tree moth caterpillars.
In trials across Europe, the entirely new technique has proven hugely successful in reducing the damaging effects of the box tree moth caterpillars and is set to create a new standard in integrated control strategies, reports Syngenta Tree Care Technical Manager, Sean Loakes.
Whilst attractant pheromones have been used in the past to lure some adult moths into traps for monitoring, this is the first time a control option applied directly to box trees can be used to disrupt the moths’ sexual behaviour and reduce egg laying, he said.
"The technology is incredibly easy and discreet to apply by tree care professionals, which makes it an extremely useful option for pest control on ornamental box in gardens and nurseries,” advised Mr Loakes.
Box T Pro Press works by depositing small amounts of a concentrated synthetic female box tree moth pheromone within the box tree, which entirely confuses the males to the extent that they cannot find females to mate. The populations of caterpillars are therefore hugely reduced.
The application technique utilises a novel patented reusable air-pressurised Phero Pump, to place the small dose onto branches within the targeted box tree. The application quickly dries to an almost invisible wax layer, which delivers a controlled release of pheromone for a period of three months protection from each application. Each sachet of Box T Pro Press delivers approximately 250 pheromone dose points.
“Box tree moth caterpillars have a voracious appetite only for box wood, which can result in rapid defoliation. The damage is extremely unsightly and all too frequently fatal for these defining trees and hedges that are the centrepiece of many formal gardens,” warned Mr Loakes.
Syngenta technical support with Box T Pro Press includes advice on how to treat varying shaped box trees, topiary and hedges, along with developing an individual Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy.
The box tree moth (Cydalima perspectalis) can go through multiple generations each year, to perpetuate damage on affected plants. With adults emerging from early May to the end of June, depending on the season, Mr Loakes advocated an initial application of Box T Pro Press before the first flights, with a second application three months later.
Maintaining pest monitoring alongside the Box T Pro Press treatment, using attractant pheomone traps, can ensure the optimum timing of any in season biological insecticidal larvicide application, such as Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) where required.
Where Box T Pro Press was used in ornamental garden trials, the need for a Bt treatment was reduced by at least 50%.
Research since 2017 in some of the most prestigious ornamental gardens in France, by lifesciences R&D specialists, M2i, saw a 10 times reduction in box tree moths through the season in areas treated with Box T Pro Press, compared to untreated, along with a two to four times reduction in caterpillars.
In the UK, research trials in the exemplary box tree gardens of the National Trust’s historic Ham House, undertaken by Chris Poole of the European Boxwood and Topiary Society, showed four to five times less damage in areas treated with Box T Pro Press.
Each generation of box tree moth had only one or two caterpillars in the mating disrupted area, instead of the usual infestation numbers, he reported.
Sean Loakes added: “The combination of Box T Pro Press, pest monitoring and reducing biological insecticide use is a perfect example of a genuine IPM approach, which has immense potential for control of damaging insect pests in gardens and woodland.”
