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What is the Piezoelectric sprayer ?

  • The Piezoelectric sprayer is a new device for releasing semiochemicals that provides significant advantages over the passive substrates (i.e., filter paper, rubber septa, etc).
  • The Piezoelectric sprayer allows precise release of semiochemicals during the entire course of an experiment.
  • Release rate can be set to almost any value, i.e. pg/min, fg/min, etc.
  • The Piezoelectric sprayer can release a mixture of semiochemicals at constant ratios and rates.
  • The release rate of semiochemicals is not affected by factors such as the vapor pressures and mole percentages of the compounds, temperature, relative humidity, material surface area, and wind speed.
  • Can be used in the laboratory and field experiments.
  • Multiple Piezoelectric sprayer can be used to provide dynamic control over stimulus application.

Laboratories implemented the Piezoelectric sprayer in their experiments:

  • Department of Entomology, University of California Riverside, California, USA.
  • Department of Experimental Ecology. University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
  • Lund University, Chemical Ecology group, Lund, Sweden.
  • Swedish University of Agriculture Sciences (SLU), Chemical Ecology group, Alnarp, Sweden.
  • Cornell University, Agriculture Experimental Station, Dept. Entomology, Geneva , NY, USA.
  • University of Alberta, Dept. of Biology, Edmonton, Canada.
  • Agriculture and Agri-Food, Vineland, Canada.
  • Agriculture and Agri-Food, Summerland, Canada.
  • Research Institute for Plant Protection, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
  • North Dakota State University, Department of Entomology, Fargo, USA.
  • Universitat de Lleida, Departament de Producció Vegetal. Lleida, Spain.
  • Sterling International Inc, Spokane, USA.
  • Istituto Agrario San Michele all'Adige, SafeCrop Center, San Michele all'Adige, Italy.
  • HortResearch, Lincoln, New Zealand.

Selected recent scientific publications where the piezoelectric sprayer was used for precision delivery of odor stimulus:

  • Tasin, M. Bäckman, A-C. Bengtsson, M., Ioriatti, C., and Witzgall, P. 2006. Essential host plant cues in the grapevine moth. Naturwissenschaften: 93: 141 – 144.
  • Olsson, C. P.-O., Anderbrant, O., Löfstedt, C., Borg-Karlson, A.-K., and Liblikas, I. 2005. Electrophysiological and behavioral responses to chocolate volatiles in both sexes of the pyralid moths Ephestia cautella and Plodia interpunctella. Journal of Chemical Ecology. 31:2947-2961.
  • Svensson, G.P., Löfstedt, C., Skals, N. 2004. The odour makes the difference: male moths attracted by sex pheromones ignore the threat by predatory bats. OIKOS. 104: 91-100.
  • El-Sayed, A.M., Gödde, J., and Arn, H. 1999. Sprayer for quantitative application of odor stimuli. Environmental Entomology, 28: 947-953. download PDF file
  • Skals, N., Plepys, D., El-Sayed, A., Löfstedt, C., Surlykke, A. 2003. Quantitative analysis of the effects of sound from an odor sprayer on moth searching behavior. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 29: 71-82. download PDF file
  • Judd GJR, DeLury NC, Gardiner MGT. 2005. Examining disruption of pheromone communication in Choristoneura rosaceana and Pandemis limitata using microencapsulated (Z)-11-tetradecenyl acetate applied in a laboratory flight tunnel. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 114 (1): 35-45.
  • Coracini, M. D. A., Bengtsson, M., Reckziegel, A., Eiras, A. E., Vilela, E. F., Anderson, P., Francke, W., Löfqvist, J.,and Witzgall, P. 2003. Behavioural effects of minor sex pheromone components in Brazilian apple leafroller Bonagota cranaodes (Lep., Tortricidae). Journal of Applied Entomology. 127: 427-434.
  • Plepys, D., Ibarra, F., Löfstedt, C. 2002. Volatiles from flowers of Platanthera bifolia (Orchidaceae) attractive to the silver Y moth, Autographa gamma (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Oikos, 99: 69-74.
  • El-Sayed, A., and Byers, J. 2000. Inhibitory effect of monoterpenes on response of Pityogenes bidentatus (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) to aggregation pheromone demonstrated using piezoelectric sprayer for precision release of semiochemicals. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 26:1795-1809.
  • Hillbur, Y., El-Sayed, A., Bengtsson, M., Löfqvist, J., Biddle, A., Plass, E., Francke, W. 2000. Laboratory and field study on the attraction of male pea midges, Contarinia pisi, to synthetic sex pheromone components. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 26: 1941-1952.
  • Gödde, J., Arn, H., and El-Sayed, A. 1999. The pheromone sprayer: New technology in stimulus application. IOBC wprs Bull. Vol. 22: 49-56.

To order the Piezoelectric sprayer for your laboratory or for further information please contact:

Dr. Ashraf M. El-Sayed
HortResearch
Lincoln, New Zealand
Email: elsayedam@pherobase.com

© 2003 - 2006 The Pherobase - Ashraf M. El-Sayed