Abstract

The soybean is an economically important crop for Krasnodar krai. The biological control of polyphagous soybean pests is necessary for organic farming. The aim of our study was to study the possibility of using a synthetic analogs of sex pheromones to control the number of polyphagous soybean pests (Glycine max). The present investigation consisted in the fact that as a primary means of regulation of the number of click beetles (Coleoptera: Elateridae), such as Agriotes gurgistanus Heyden, A. tauricus (Faldermann) and A. sputator (L.) and the cotton bollworm Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), methods of mass capture of males (elimination) and disruption of chemical communication (disorientation) were used on soybeans.. The studies were carried out in the soybean plot with an area of 8 hectares (GPS: 45.03° N 38.52° E; FSBSI FRCBZR, Krasnodar), and in the experimental plot “Zolotaya Niva” with an area of 10 hectares (GPS: 45.13°N 39.35°E Voronezhskaya village, Krasnodar Krai). Preparative forms of pheromones were made on specially designed technological equipment at FSCBPP. Glue traps for monitoring and mass catching of cotton bollworms (type “Attracon”) were also manufactured using FSCBPP technological equipment. Estrontype pheromone traps were purchased from the manufacturer. To determine the dynamics of flight and the number of pests, pheromone traps were placed on experimental plots at the rate of one trap per 1–3 hectares. In experiments on mass trapping of insects (elimination), traps were placed in the amount of 5–10 traps per hectare. The effectiveness of the method was determined by the fertilization of females in control and experiment. Females click beetles were captured using the lure method and LED traps.It was found that the effectiveness of the method of elimination of male click beetles (Agriotes gurgistanus, A. tauricus and A. sputator) was 89–95%, and the level of impaired chemical communication (disorientation) reached 91–99%. The disorientation effect for the cotton moth H. armigera was 92%, with the damage to plants and soybeans not exceeding 2.0%. The effectiveness of this method was 88.6–94.5%, during disorientation of three representatives of Elateridae family and cotton moth H. armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) it was found that the effectiveness of this method was 91.0–99.6% for Elateridae, and 92.0% for H. armigera. This work has presented a novel approach to the possibility of using pheromones as not only the main means of monitoring phytophages, but also a method for controlling polyphagous pests of soybeans, which is important in the development of protection for organic farming systems.