🌿 Pheromone mating disruption

Pheromone traps in vineyards are a way to protect the crop from harmful moths without poison. Capsules with the scent of the female are hung on the vines. Males sense this smell everywhere and cannot find a real female. They fail to find a mate, and the pests decline.

Which moth is caught this way? The main pest the method is aimed at is the grape berry moth. Its caterpillars damage flowers and berries, and rot enters the bunch through the damage. If the moths do not breed, there are fewer caterpillars. This method is called mating disruption.

The capsules are hung around the vineyard in spring, before the moths fly. They work for several weeks, then are replaced. The pheromone is harmless to people and other insects, because it acts on only one species.

The method suits organic viticulture, where chemical insecticides may not be used. It needs careful planning: the whole plot has to be treated, otherwise moths fly in from neighbouring ones.