Scientists have resurrected an old device to sniff out the exact scents that attract or repel insects, which could then be developed by companies for growers to purchase and use to trap or ward off such crop-damaging pests.
Scientists have resurrected an old device to sniff out the exact scents that attract or repel insects, which could then be developed by companies for growers to purchase and use to trap or ward off such crop-damaging pests.
A Cornell research team is investigating whether the methods could help tackle crop pests such as beetles in vegetables, fruit tree pests including woolly apple aphids, black stem borers and codling moths, and human pests such as mosquitoes.
The device, called an electroantennogram, was invented nearly 70 years ago and used for pioneering pheromone research at Cornell in the 1970s. It allows researchers to identify the exact scent molecules detected by an insect’s antennae. These could include pest-attracting molecules (attractants) found in sex pheromones or fruit odors and in pest deterrents that originate in alarm pheromones and warn of dangers.
Read more at: Cornell University
