Young green tender leaves of grapes in spring. Selective focus.

Overstimulation leads to breakups

 

Do you know the grapevine moth? It is a real philanderer. It loves the females of its kind and is constantly to get closer to them. The consequences of this, however, are troubling winegrowers. This is because numerous offspring in the form of larvae attack flowers and grapes. It eats them, and makes them more susceptible to rotting due to grey mould. 

Nasty love trap

To prevent the vines from getting infested in the first place, winegrowers are now following a kind of birth control system based on pheromones. The "contraceptive" - or the active ingredient for the insect pheromone - is produced by our Saltigo business unit on behalf of customers in Leverkusen - by the ton.

How does it work? Admittedly, the pheromone trap is a bit mean. Pheromones are attractants emitted by females ready to mate. This is how the moths find sexual partners over long distances. Intensively used, the grapevine moth smells everywhere for females willing to mate. So at the beginning, the Casanova thinks he´s in paradise. But where are they? He can’t find the potential partners he thinks are behind the pheromone. Increasingly confused, he will end up alone with his desires.

The pheromone produced by Saltigo is a so-called "agricultural pheromone": a highly efficient, selective and non-toxic compound that solves the pest problem in an environmentally friendly way and secures the harvest for the winegrowers.

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