Synthetic sex pheromone lure for dogwood borer control
This technology identifies the specific chemical blend that female dogwood borer moths use to attract mates, and also identifies a compound that blocks that attraction. The dogwood borer is a destructive pest that attacks apple orchards, ornamental dogwood trees, and other landscape plants. By replicating the female's scent signal at precise ratios, growers can lure and trap male moths before mating occurs, reducing pest populations without broad-spectrum insecticides. A separate antagonist compound can be used to disrupt mating altogether by confusing or repelling males.
What you could build
A pheromone lure or mating-disruption dispenser for use in apple orchards and nurseries, sold to fruit growers, landscape managers, and integrated pest management (IPM) distributors as a targeted, low-toxicity pest control tool.
Who in Virginia should care
Virginia's apple-growing industry in the Shenandoah Valley, nursery operations, and ornamental horticulture businesses would be direct end users; Virginia Cooperative Extension already tracks dogwood borer as a priority pest.
Readiness: Lab validated
Concept — described but not yet demonstrated. Lab validated — supported by experimental results in the patent. Prototype likely — the text describes a built, working embodiment.
Readiness is inferred from the patent text, not from a lab visit.
The record
- Inventors
- Aijun Zhang, Tracy C. Leskey, Christopher J. Bergh
- Granted
- May 17, 2011
- Status
- Granted patent
- Patent number
- 7943159
Jointly owned. Virginia Tech holds this patent together with THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AS REPRESENTED BY THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE. VTIP can license Virginia Tech's interest; terms are worked out in the first conversation.
Ready to talk?
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties handles licensing for this technology. Email us for an introduction prosim@harbor.capital.
Prosim summaries are generated from public patent text and are not legal advice.