The effectiveness of non-commercial attractant baits for controlling the slug Deroceras agreste in lettuce fields of Mazandaran province

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Agricultural Zoology Research Department, Iranian Research Institute of Plant Protection, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Tehran, Iran

2 Plant Protection Research Department, Mazandaran Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization, Sari, Iran

Abstract

Slugs are one of the most important pests of lettuce fields in the north of Iran, which cause damages by feeding on various parts of the plants. In this study, the efficacy of three types of non-commercial baits, along with the mineral poison bait Ferricol® and the chemical bait Lumakidin 5G®, in non-commercial green box traps against Deroceras agreste in a lettuce field was investigated. The experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with 9 treatments and 4 replications during 2023 and 2024 at Qarakhail Agricultural Station, Mazandaran Province. The number of slugs caught in each trap was counted and compared separately at seven-day intervals over eight times. During the two years of study, the average number of slugs trapped in the bread sour dough trap (79.46 numbers) was higher than the other two attractants, including non-alcoholic beer (68.9) and sour milk (51.3). The bread sour dough treatment with Lumacidin 5G® (average 84.2) in the first order and the bread sour dough alone and bread sour dough with Ferricol® (average 80.42) in the second order were the most effective treatments in attracting the slugs. The damage caused by the slugs to lettuce leaves in the sour milk trap treatment over the twoyear study was higher than other treatments (average 36%) and in combination with Ferricol® and Lumakidin 5G ® were 20.5 and 24.4%, respectively, while in the other treatments it remained below  less than 10%. The use of bread sour dough in green box traps can be recommended to minimize the reliance on molluscicides within integrated pest management strategies aimed at controlling harmful molluscs in lettuce cultivations..

Keywords

References

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Plant Pest Research
Volume 15, Issue 3
December 2025
Pages 17-29

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History

  • Receive Date: 11 August 2025
  • Revise Date: 15 October 2025
  • Accept Date: 29 October 2025

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