Jingjing Wang, Jinhua Li, Ruwen Li, Yunshuang Deng, Yang Yue, Zhenya Tian, Guangmei Chen, Weihua Ma, Zhongshi Zhou
{"title":"Volatiles from Momordica charantia L. fruits and leaves attract Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Coquillett).","authors":"Jingjing Wang, Jinhua Li, Ruwen Li, Yunshuang Deng, Yang Yue, Zhenya Tian, Guangmei Chen, Weihua Ma, Zhongshi Zhou","doi":"10.1002/ps.70877","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.70877","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The melon fly, Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Coquillett), is a significant pest of cucurbit crops, and its ovipositing females cause direct damage to fruits. However, existing management strategies primarily target the male population, leaving a critical gap in female-specific control measures. Plant-derived volatiles are environmentally sustainable alternatives for developing behavior-based pest-management tools.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The volatiles of the preferred host plant, bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.), were characterized qualitatively and semiquantitatively using headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC-MS) under targeted sampling conditions. A total of 48 fruit and 44 leaf volatiles were identified, with 28 compounds common to both tissues. Electroantennography (EAG) screenings revealed dose-dependent female antennal responses to 13 compounds, six of which (terpinen-4-ol, trans-verbenol, α-terpineol, 1-decanal, β-caryophyllene and perillaldehyde) exhibited consistent female-specific attraction in behavioral assays. A synthetic six-component blend (each at 10 μg μL<sup>-1</sup> in a 1:1:1:1:1:1 ratio) demonstrated a significantly stronger attraction than any individual compound did. Further optimization yielded an optimized four-component formulation comprising terpinen-4-ol, perillaldehyde, trans-verbenol and β-caryophyllene (each at 10 μg μL<sup>-1</sup> in a 1:1:1:1 ratio), which effectively attracted both male and female Z. cucurbitae.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This plant-based volatile blend offers a targeted candidate attractant with strong potential for subsequent field development for sustainable management of Z. cucurbitae. The six-component blend exhibited potent female-specific attraction, addressing the current control gap for female melon flies, whereas the optimized four-component formulation achieved effective dual-sex attraction and provided a practical tool for integration into monitoring and mass-trapping programs. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.</p>","PeriodicalId":218,"journal":{"name":"Pest Management Science","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147831376","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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