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Chinese Journal of Biological Control ›› 2026, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (4): 838-846.DOI: 10.16409/j.cnki.2095-039x.2026.01.025

• RESEARCH REPORTS • Previous Articles    

Effects of Benzaldehyde and Benzonitrile on Olfactory Responses and Trapping Efficiency of Grapholita molesta(Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) Female Moths

NIU Guofei, WANG Qilin, WEI Xiaoxue, WANG Yi, LI Jie, MA Ruiyan, KONG Weina   

  1. Shanxi Key laboratory of Bioagent Utilization and Eco-Pesticide Innovation/College of Plant Protection, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taiyuan 030031, China
  • Received:2025-09-10 Published:2026-08-26

Abstract: Grapholita molesta(Busck) is an important pest of Rosaceae fruit trees. Aromatic compounds released by host plants play a key role in the host location behavior of female moths for oviposition, which have great significance for the development of plant-derived attractants. In this study, five typical aromatic compounds, benzonitrile, benzaldehyde, methyl benzoate, phenylacetonitrile, and methyl salicylate were prepared into five concentration gradients(0.01, 0.1, 1, 10 and 100 μg/μL) and tested using electroantennogram(EAG) to screen the compounds with strong olfactory response activity to mated female moths, followed by field verification. The results showed that benzonitrile and benzaldehyde elicited the strongest EAG response in female moths at a concentration of 10 μg/μL. Field experiments revealed that the trapping efficiency of benzonitrile and benzaldehyde showed a concentration effect. The maximum number of trapped moths was observed at 0.1 μg/μL for benzaldehyde and 1 μg/μL for benzonitrile. Therefore, both benzaldehyde and benzonitrile show good field attraction efficiency within the moderate concentration range(0.1—10 μg/μL). Their mixture could have a synergistic effect at appropriate proportions to further improve the trapping efficiency. In this study, the optimal active concentrations of benzaldehyde and benzonitrile for attracting G. molesta have been screened out. As potential novel behavioral regulators, they will help establish more precise olfactory regulation strategies for the pest.

Key words: Grapholita molesta, benzonitrile, benzaldehyde, electrophysiological responses, trapping effectiveness, behavioral regulation

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