Fifteen years of vibrational mating disruption: Progress and challenges in controlling Scaphoideus titanus (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae)

Vibrational Mating Disruption (VMD) was conceived 15 years ago as a promising method to control the leafhopper Scaphoideus titanus, the main vector of the phytoplasma causing flavescence dorée in grapevine plants. Over the years, VMD has emerged as one of the few sustainable solutions to manage this pest, as reliance on insecticides poses significant environmental challenges. The VMD technique is based on disrupting the species-specific vibrational communication used by S. titanus for mating, analogous to the widely-adopted pheromone mating disruption approach. Despite the potential of this technique to control also other Hemiptera species, the absence of a commercial solution underscores the need for overcoming several technical and logistical constraints. The journey from concept to field application has faced numerous hurdles, particularly in developing effective and economically viable transducers for large-scale deployment. Ensuring that the disturbance noise effectively disrupts mating communication above the species' safety threshold remains a critical challenge. To assess the viability of VMD, we developed a stage-structured model describing the population dynamics of S. titanus under different scenarios of transducer effectiveness. This talk highlights the historical context, current status, and future perspectives of VMD, emphasizing its significance as a potentially sustainable solution for controlling S. titanus. By addressing the technical constraints, we move closer to realizing the commercial potential of this innovative approach. Furthermore, the results will be used to reflect on the applicability of VMD for other species that rely on vibrational communication for mating.