Attraction of the sugarcane billbug, Sphenophorus levis , to vinasse and its volatile composition
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CHEMOECOLOGY
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Attraction of the sugarcane billbug, Sphenophorus levis, to vinasse and its volatile composition Lizandra F. Martins1 · Mateus Tonelli2 · José Mauricio S. Bento2 · César J. Bueno1 · Luís Garrigós Leite1 Received: 17 July 2019 / Accepted: 9 May 2020 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Abstract The expansion of sugarcane plantations in Brazil and the discarding of vinasse into the sugarcane field have been speculated to contribute to the growing population of the billbug Sphenophorus levis. This beetle attacks the root system and forms galleries in rhizomes, causing damage or even the death of host plants. It has been suspected that vinasse, a residue from ethanol production, can release volatiles that are attractive to the insect; however, no study has addressed this hypothesis so far. The aim of this study was to investigate the attractiveness of vinasse to S. levis adults and identify the volatile compounds released by this substance using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). We found that vinasse was more attractive to S. levis than sugarcane stems, molasses and wastewater under laboratory conditions, but not than cane stems at field conditions. Our GC–MS analysis revealed the presence of primary alcohols, terpenes and organic carboxylic acids in vinasse. When a mixture of the commercial synthetic compounds identified in the chemical analysis was tested in the laboratory, a strong attraction of the insects to the mixture was observed. Our results help to explain how vinasse can contribute to the infestations of S. levis in sugarcane fields and shed new light on the development of strategies to control this pest using chemical attractants. Keywords Coleoptera · Host search · Semiochemicals · Soil insects · Sugarcane byproducts
Introduction Brazil is the world’s largest producer of sugarcane, with an estimated annual production of 625.96 million tons and a harvested area of 8.61 million hectares (CONAB 2018). The sector has a very high level of technological investments in the production and processing of sugarcane due to the national and international demand for sugar and ethanol. As a fuel alternative that has little impact on the environment, ethanol has been gaining popularity, and its production has been increasing yearly. During sugarcane processing, known as fractional distillation of the sugarcane juice, a liquid substance known as vinasse is produced; it is dark Communicated by Günther Raspotnig. * Luís Garrigós Leite [email protected] 1
Biological Institute, APTA, CP 70, Campinas, SP 13001‑970, Brazil
University of São Paulo, ESALQ-USP, CP 09, Piracicaba, SP 13418‑900, Brazil
2
brown in appearance, has a strong and characteristic odour and is rich in nutrients and organic matter. Each litre of ethanol produced generates 13 L of vinasse (Paulino et al. 2011). Due to its richness in nutrients, vinasse is used in the fertigation of sugarcane, minimizing the consumption of water and synthetic fertilizers (Robles-González et al. 2012). The fermen
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