Evaluation of attractants in the control of the Patón bug (Leptoglosus zonatus), Fruit boring butterfly (Achaea ablunaris) and the Flower bud fly (Dasiops saltans) in the cultivation of pitahaya and its impact on the economy of the producers of the Puerto

Abstract

This research aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of different food attractants for the control and monitoring of the pest complex comprised of the flower bud fly (Dasiops saltans), the pitahaya borer butterfly (Achaea ablunaris), and the yellowfoot stink bug (Leptoglossus zonatus) in pitahaya cultivation, and its economic impact on producers. A Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) was used with four treatments: apple cider vinegar, pure molasses, pineapple with molasses, and passion fruit with molasses. Normality analyses using the skewness (<1) and kurtosis (<3) coefficients validated the use of parametric statistics for data processing. The results of the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) revealed statistically significant differences only for the pest Dasiops saltans (p < 0.05), where the apple cider vinegar attractant showed the highest capture rate with an average of 37.50 individuals and a population density of 0.47. In contrast, for A. ablunaris and L. zonatus, no significant differences were found between treatments (p > 0.05), although numerically, the sweet baits of molasses and pineapple stood out in capturing the budworm moth with an average of 5.00 individuals. The stink bug showed the lowest incidence in the crop with an overall average of only 0.88 individuals.