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Sterile Rhynchophorus ferrugineus males efficiently impair reproduction while maintaining their sexual competitiveness in a social context

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Abstract

The red palm weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, recently spreading from its native range throughout the world, is one of the most dangerous pests for several palm species. The sterile insect technique (SIT) is a promising environmentally friendly approach for the management of this pest. An essential prerequisite of the SIT is that irradiated males released in nature are as sexually competitive as their wild counterparts. Here we evaluated the potential use of the SIT in red palm weevil males by investigating the sexual competitiveness of gamma-irradiated (Cobalt 60 source, dose 80 Gray) males in the laboratory in a natural-like social context with a balanced sex ratio and by testing their efficacy in impairing female reproduction. Our results showed that irradiation did not affect any of the mating behaviour parameters. However, the male reproductive potential was drastically reduced, as fertility was markedly decreased in females mated with irradiated males. Therefore, an 80 Gray irradiation dose is a promising option for the SIT in the control of the red palm weevil, producing sterile but sexually competitive males when tested in a natural-like mating context.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are very grateful to Elena Tricarico (UNIFI-DB) for her suggestions and comments. The authors thank Manuela Camerota, Annarita Cito, Gian P. Barzanti (CRA-ABP) and Arturo Cavari (UNIFI-DB) for their contribution to the experiments and Stefania Baccaro, Angelo Pasquali (ENEA-UTTMAT), Sergio Musmeci, Raffaele Sasso and Silvia Catarci (ENEA-UTAGRI-ECO) for the rearing and irradiation of the weevils. The authors thank Dr. Peter Webb Christie, Flavia Evangelista and Carlotta Cini for the English revision of the manuscript. The research was supported by the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry (MiPAAF) national project ‘‘Protection of ornamental and indigenous palms from the biological invasion of the Red Palm Weevil—PROPALMA’’ (D.M. 25618/7301/11, 2012/12/01) and by the International Agency for Atomic Energy (IAEA) (Technical Contract 15804).

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Research Centre for Agrobiology and Pedology, via Lanciola 12/A, Cascine del Riccio, 50125, Florence, Italy

      Giuseppe Mazza, Claudia Benvenuti, Valeria Francardi & Pio Federico Roversi

    2. Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via Madonna del Piano 6, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019, Florence, Italy

      Alberto Francesco Inghilesi, Gianluca Stasolla, Alessandro Cini & Rita Cervo

    3. ENEA Casaccia, UTAGRI-ECO, via Anguillarese 301, 00123, Rome, Italy

      Massimo Cristofaro & Silvia Arnone

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    1. Giuseppe Mazza
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    2. Alberto Francesco Inghilesi
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    3. Gianluca Stasolla
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    4. Alessandro Cini
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    5. Rita Cervo
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    6. Claudia Benvenuti
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    8. Massimo Cristofaro
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    9. Silvia Arnone
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    10. Pio Federico Roversi
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    Correspondence to Giuseppe Mazza.

    Additional information

    Communicated by J. Gross.

    Giuseppe Mazza and Alberto Francesco Inghilesi have contributed equally to the present work.

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    Mazza, G., Inghilesi, A.F., Stasolla, G. et al. Sterile Rhynchophorus ferrugineus males efficiently impair reproduction while maintaining their sexual competitiveness in a social context. J Pest Sci 89, 459–468 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-015-0709-4

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