Volatile Compounds Emitted by Guava Fruit Oviposited for Guava Weevil (Conotrachelus dimidiatus Champion)

Conotrachelus dimidiatus females oviposit in immature guava fruits (Psidium guajava L.) leaving a marking to ensure the nutritional resource of her offspring and avoid intraspecific competition. The emitted volatiles associated with the oviposition marks can be synthesized and probably used to artificially mark the fruits and reduce the number of damaged fruits. We isolated volatile chemical compounds from fruits in the field and under controlled laboratory conditions with feeding and oviposition damage 6, 24, and 48 hours after oviposition. The hexane-induced identified by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry compounds were: selene, B cadinene, aromadendrene, Alpha copaene, globulol, and Gamma-curcumene that presented a higher concentration in the chromatograms of fruits oviposited by the females. The compounds 2 hexenal and thujopsen, reported as repellants of other insects, were also detected. We consider that the individual effect or the combination of some of these compounds could generate an oviposition deterrent effect for C. dimidiatus females in commercial guava orchards.