WO2000062617A1

WO2000062617A1 - Method for controlling a mediterranean fruit fly pest

Info

Publication number: WO2000062617A1
Application number: PCT/ES1999/000100
Authority: WO
Inventors: Eduardo Primo Yufera; Asunción GANDIA BALAGUER; MªCarmen MENGOD PUERTA; Victor Casaña Giner
Original assignee: Consejo Superior De Investigaciones Cientificas; Universidad Politecnica De Valencia
Priority date: 1999-04-15
Filing date: 1999-04-15
Publication date: 2000-10-26
Also published as: AU3148599A

Abstract

Disclosed is a method for controlling a Medfly pest, whereby ingestion of an efficient amount of at least one benzoylphenyl urea is provoked. Said benzoylphenyl urea contains formula (I), wherein R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7, R8 and R9 are selected from the group consisting of Cl, F, H and R10 is a fluorinated aliphatic chain having x to y carbon atoms. Said benzoylphenyl urea is preferably used in combination with a food bait. The association of the combined food bait and benzoylphenyl urea with a specific attractant for individuals of the pest to be controlled is particularly effective. Said method also makes it possible to obtain sterile male medflies in captivity which are then released in the fields to compete with indigenous males for copulation with indigenous females thus controlling the spread of the pest.

Description

TITLE OF THE INVENTION

METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A PESTICIDE OF TEFRÍTIDOS TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention falls within the technical field of pest control harmful to the agricultural sector.

More specifically, the present invention focuses on the control of tefritid pests by the use of benzoyl-phenylureas as a chemical sterilizer of the individuals belonging to said pests, especially Cerátitas capi tata iedemann and Anastrepha ludens. STATE OF THE PRIOR ART OF THE INVENTION

Tephritid pests constitute a serious problem in the agricultural sector. Within the Tefritids, Cerati tis capitata is a pest widely spread across the land that causes very serious damage. It attacks and devastates more than 250 species of fruits, berries and vegetables. It is estimated that the establishment of the pest in the United States causes a state expenditure of about $ 16 billion a year (T.A. Baktin, American Chemical Society Symposium Series 616, 1995). Another example is the Anastrepha ludens pest, which is also agricultural and horticulturally undesirable. One of the means currently used to combat the pests of Cerati tis capi tata is to carry out aerial sprays, or from the ground, of yeast hydrolyses mixed with some phosphorus insecticides. This practice is being very controversial by environmental institutions and by the inhabitants of rural areas.

Another method is the application of wettable powders containing an insecticide, for example, malathion or Lebaycid or Dipterex, in concentrations of the order of 25%, which are more persistent but more toxic. Without However, this method has limited efficacy and 10-15 days after fumigation, the pest population begins to reconstitute. To monitor the appearance of the pest, traps impregnated with an attractant are usually used, for example, trimedlure (for males) associated or not with an insecticide or adhesive.

Another technique that has been used with relative success is the biological fight based on the release of a large number of sterile males in the field. In this way, sterile males compete with indigenous (fertile) males in the coupling of indigenous females, which greatly reduces their multiplication.

The sterilization of Cera-I b ti tis capi tata male individuals is usually carried out by means of an expensive and difficult system consisting of the irradiation of the males with gamma rays, coming from a Co. pump. This method is very laborious and expensive. since it implies: the breeding of insects, the selection of males, the sterilization of the same under sources of Co and the launching from airplanes of millions of sterile males.

Therefore, it is still necessary to find methods to combat tefritid pests, which are technically and economically viable, and ecologically acceptable.

In this line, the applicants of the present patent provide a new system to combat Cerati tis capi ta ta Wiedemann and other tefritid pests, or based on the use of certain benzoyl-phenylureas as sterilizer of the individuals thereof, both males as females DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the use of benzoyl-5 phenylureas for the control of tefritid pests, especially j -

Cerati tis capi tata.

Applicants have carried out intensive research and studies on the sterilizing capacity of certain products for tefritid insects and, in particular, Cerati tis capi tata. As a result of these studies, they have concluded that certain substituted benzoyl-phenylureas, corresponding to the following formula (I):

wherein R _lt R ₂ , R ₃ , R ₄ , R ₅ , Rs, R ₇ , e and R ₉ , are selected from the group consisting of Cl, F, H; and R ₁₀ is a fused aliphatic chain of x and carbon atoms; they produce sterility in individuals of said species by ingestion, presenting the advantage of being products of very low toxicity for higher animals.

According to the above, the sterilized compounds of formula (I) are combined with the food of the insects so that they can ingest them and, thus, develop a process of self-sterilization in the treated individual.

Additionally, the food bait combined with the sterilizing compound of formula (I), is usually associated with specific attractants of the insects, in order to locate the treatment in the desired areas, thus achieving that the contamination of the medium is practically nil. The sterilizing compounds of formula (I) exert its effect on virtually all individuals of the Cerati tis capi tata species, regardless of their sex and age. Thus, they act on both males and females and both young individuals (<3 days since hatching) and fully developed adults (> 7 days since hatching). In addition, they also act on individuals in different vital stages, that is.

• Young females treated virgin

• Adult females treated after mating • Young males treated before mating

• Adult males treated before coupling Among the benzoyl-phenylureas of the formula (I) above, the following have proved very effective as sterilizers: • (RS) -1- [2,5-dichloro-4- (1,1, 2, 3, 3, 3-hexafluorpropo- xi) phenyl] -3- (2,6,2,6-difluorbenzoyl) urea (Compound 1)

• 1- (2-Chlorobenzoyl) -3- (4-trifluoromethoxyphenyl) urea (Compound 2) It has been found that prolongation of the fluorinated chain by 4 phenyl increases the sterilizing capacity.

The sterilizing benzoyl-phenylurea is incorporated into the food in an attractive bait, and is effective as a sterilizer in doses between 1000 and 15000 ppm, when offered to insects for 3 or more hours. With higher concentrations, increased mortality occurs.

For example, using Compound 1 at a dose of 5000 ppm, administered for 3 hours, total sterility occurs in Cerati tis capi tata. With Anastrepha ludens (Diptera -. Tephri tidae) the effect obtained is analogous.

The sterilizing effect is maintained for more than 25 days after treatment, for both females and males. The sterilizing effect is manifested in the hatching of eggs, in the case of Compound 1, and in hatching and pupation in the case of Compound 2. Cerati tis capi tata females lay eggs, and laying does not differ significantly with the placement of untreated targets, but hatching in the group that has been treated with 5000 ppm is reduced to zero (for Compound 1), or no fly can pupate (in the case of Compound 2) . Ingestion of the sterilizer is favored when a specific attractant is added to the food bait. In Table 1, below, some of the most effective combinations (food + attractant) according to the present invention are illustrated. The sterilizing action on males, both young and old, is the most interesting. Fertile females that mate with these treated males lay unviable eggs that do not hatch. This activity has a multiplier effect because each male copulates with numerous females that remain infertile.

It has been proven that this sterilizing action through the males remains after 25 days after they ingest the active compound.

This form of sterility and its long duration was not known until now, and is the cause of the great effectiveness of the system of the present invention that is claimed.

Indeed, the field experiences that have been carried out confirm its validity.

These experiences are carried out in isolated plots, to avoid the invasion by Cerati tis capi tata of the neighboring areas.

The treatment is carried out using impregnated fabrics or plates with bait + attractant + sterilizer, hung from the trees, protected from the sun and rain and conditioned, if necessary, with a gelling agent; or by application by thick drop sprays, located on tree branches. Alternatively, male and female baits are available with their specific attractant.

After treatment, an increasing decrease in the population of Cerati tis capi tata is observed in the treated plots, which is reduced to commercially tolerable levels and can even reach the complete eradication of the pest. In contrast, in untreated control plots, or undergoing conventional treatment with mathion, the population is high and harmful throughout the pest attack season.

The present invention also allows the male sterile breeding insectary using ^'phenylurea benzoyl- of formula (I), for later release in the field, with a view to compete with indigenous males. This method of breeding sterile males has important economic and technical advantages over irradiation sterilization of the prior art. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES Figure 1: It is a graph that represents the percentage of hatching versus the dose in ppm of Compound 1, for different vital stages of the individuals of Cerati tis capi tata, in which the drastic is observed reduction of offspring as a result of treatment.

Figure 2: It is a graph depicting the evolution of the population of Cerati tis capi tata in a plot treated with Compound 1 using localized traps, compared to an untreated control plot. Figure 3: It is a graph depicting the evolution of the population of Cerati tis capi tata in a plot treated with Compound 1 using the spray system, compared to an untreated control plot. EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is further illustrated by the following Examples, which should not be construed as limiting its scope. EXAMPLE 1

Study of the sterilizing power of compound 1: (RS) -1- [2,5-dichloro-4- (1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 3-hexafluorpropoxy) phenyl] -3- (2,6, 2,6-difluorbenzoi hard.

The treatment consists in offering the flies a food bait (4 parts of sucrose and 1 part of yeast hydrolyzate) in which the compound 1 specified above is mixed, at the corresponding doses and for a period of 3 hours.

Forty-eight hours after treatment they begin to record the data corresponding to their offspring, that is:

- number of eggs per fly and per day,

- percentage of eggs that hatch (with respect to the sown), - percentage of eggs that reach pupae (with respect to the number of eggs sown) and

- percentage of eggs that reach adults (with respect to the number of eggs sown)

The results, shown in Figure 1, show that the reduction of the offspring is total for compound 1.

Table 2, below, shows the ED ₅₀ (doses at which 50% sterility occurs) in the four vital stages for compound 1. Table 3, below, shows the minimum necessary doses for total sterilization for compound 1. EXAMPLE 2

Study of the sterilizing power of compound 2: 1- (2-chlorobenzoyl) -3- (4-trifluoromethoxyphenyl) rea. The treatment is carried out in the same manner as in Example 1.

Table 4, below, shows the results of the counts. The minimum dose that produces total sterility for compound 2, in the four vital stages of Cerati tis capi ta ta flies, is 10,000 ppm with three hours of exposure, a dose greater than that necessary for compound 1. EXAMPLE 3

Study of the attractant activity for males of Cerati tis capi tata, of various combinations bait + sterilizer + attractant and of the effect on the ingestion of the mixture. The food bait is placed on plates and consists of an agar gel with 40% corn mash liquor and 40% fructose in water. The sterilizer is added in the concentration of 15,000 ppm, with an emulsifier at the concentration of 1% (Triton X-100). The attractant is added to the bait, or it is placed in a separate emitter.

The number of inns, flies that enter the plate and those that leave the plate and the amount of food ingested are counted

The results are shown in Table 5, below.

EXAMPLE 4

Study of the attractant activity of various combinations bait + sterilizer + attractant and effect on the ingestion of the mixture. The food bait is placed on plates and consists of an agar gel with 40% corn mash liquor and 40% fructose in water. The sterilizer is added to the concentration of 15,000 ppm, with an emulsifier at the concentration of 1% (Triton X-100). The attractants are added to the bait, or they are placed in a separate emitter. The number of inns, flies that enter the plate and those that leave the plate and the amount of food ingested are counted

The results are shown in Table 6, below.

EXAMPLE 5

Study of the effectiveness in the field of application in localized traps of a combination bait + attractants + benzoyl-phenylureas sterilizers. In one of the plots, traps consisting of agar + corn mash liquor + fructose + sorbitol + Triton X-100 + compound 1 (benzoyl-phenyl urea) + attractant {for males or females, in turn} are placed. The traps consist of polyethylene discs 10 cm in diameter and 1 cm high, filled with the indicated mixture and placed protected from rain and sun. The concentration of the sterilizer is 15,000 ppm.

In the other plot no traps were set.

The population is monitored by adhesive traps in which a rubber septum impregnated with the Trimedlure attractant is placed. These traps are placed 24 hours every 2 weeks, making the catch count

The results are shown in Figure 2. EXAMPLE 6

Study of the effectiveness in the field of the method of control against Cerati tis capi tata Wied. by spraying, in localized areas of the trees, a mixture consisting of food bait + volatile attractant * benzoyl-sterilizing phenylurea.

In one of the plots, spray treatments of the mixture were carried out: corn mash liquor + fructose + sorbitol + Triton X-100 + Compound 1.

The concentration of the sterilizer was 15,000 ppm. The spray was a thick drop and located in two zo- 0.5 * 0.5 tree nails facing south.

The population is monitored by adhesive traps in which a rubber septum is placed with the attractive Tri edlure. Traps are placed 24 hours every 2 weeks, counting catches.

The results of the experience are shown in Figure 3.

Series of Tables

TABLE 1

COMBINATION COMPOUNDS COM I DA + ATTRACTING MORE EFFECTIVE

TABLE 2

TABLE 3

MINIMUM DOSES THAT PRODUCE TOTAL STERILITY

^"" Ül or in O (-n (-n

TABLE 4

RESULTS

EGG SETTING * Number of eggs laid per female and day

!

one

(C. 2 = 1- (2-Chlorobenzoyl) -3- (4-trifluoromethoxyphenyl) urea)

eυ (-π or (-n or n in

TABLE 5

TABLE 6

I

ATTRACTION TESTS + INGESTION for females

Attractant mixture = ammonium acetate + methylamine + putrescine + geranyl butyrate + borneol + linalool

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A method to control a pest of tephritides, which causes the ingestion of an effective amount of at least one benzoyl-phenylurea by the tephritides.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the benzoyl-phenyl urea has the formula (I):

wherein R _{1 #} R ₂ , R ₃ , R ₄ , R ₅ , Rs, R ₇ , Rg and R ₉ , are selected from the group consisting of Cl, F, H; and R ₁₀ is a fused aliphatic chain of x and carbon atoms.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein said benzoyl-phenyl urea of formula (I) is (RS) -1- [2,5-dichloro-4- (1,1,2,3,3,3) -hexafluorpropoxy) phenyl] -3- (2, 6,2, 6-di-fluorbenzoi Durea.

4. A method according to claim 2, wherein said benzoyl-phenyl urea of formula (I) is 1- (2-chlorobenzoyl) -3- (4-trifluoromethoxyphenyl) urea.

5. A method according to any one of the preceding claims 1 to 4, wherein said benzoyl-phenylurea is used in combination with a food bait.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein said combination of benzoyl phenylurea and food bait is used in association with a specific attractant for pesticide residues to be controlled.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein said attractant is incorporated into the same combination of food bait and benzoyl-phenylurea.

8. A method according to claim 6, wherein said attractant is used in association with said combination of food bait and benzoyl-phenylurea, the attractant being applied separately by means of an emitter located close to said combination.

9. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, which comprises sterilizing a group of male tefritid individuals in captivity and releasing sterilized individuals from said group to compete with indigenous male individuals in the coupling of indigenous female individuals, in which ingestion of an effective amount of at least one benzoyl-phenylurea is induced by male tefritid individuals in captivity.

10. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 above, wherein said benzoyl-phenyl urea is used as a chemical sterilizer for tephritid individuals.

11. A method according to claim 10, wherein the individuals are less than 3 days old since hatching.

12. A method according to claim 10, wherein the individuals are older than 7 days since hatching.

13. A method according to claim 10, wherein the individuals are selected from the group consisting of:

- young virgin females

- adult females after mating - young males before mating

- adult males before coupling.

14. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein said benzoyl-phenylurea is used to combat pests of tephritides provacated by Cerati tis capi tata and Anastrepha ludens.

15. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein said benzoyl-phenylurea is used to combat a tefritid plague caused by Cerati tis capi ta ta.

16. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein said benzoyl-phenylurea is used to combat a tefritid plague caused by Anastrepha ludens.