Abstract:  【Aim】 Holotrichia oblita is an economically important agricultural pest with a wide range of distribution and various host plant species. This study aims to identify peach tree volatiles that have the electrophysiological activity to the antennae of the female adults of H. oblita, and to further explore the effect of doses of the identified volatiles on the electrophysiological response in female and male antennae. 【Methods】 Volatiles from peach tree leaves were collected by dynamic headspace adsorption. The electrophysiologically active compounds from peach tree volatiles were identified by gas chromatography-electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) techniques, and the responses of the antennae of female and male adults of H. oblita to the identified volatile compounds at doses of 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10 and 100 μg were tested with electroantennogram (EAG) technique. 【Results】 There were seven compounds in the peach tree volatiles that could trigger the electrophysiological reaction in the antennae of female adults of H. oblita, including Z-β-ocimene, Z-3-hexenyl acetate, Z-3-hexanol, nonanal, methyl salicylate and two unknown compounds. All the five peach tree volatile compounds with the electrophysiological activity to the antennae of female adults of H. oblita could trigger distinct EAG responses at all test doses in both female and male adults of H. oblita. The EAG responses of females and males to the same compound tended to increase with the increase of dose. The EAG response of females was significantly higher than that of males.  【Conclusion】 H. oblita adults generally show significant dose-dependent electroantennographic responses to Z-β-ocimene, Z-3-hexenyl acetate, Z-3-hexanol, nonanal, and methyl salicylate. There exists significant sexual difference in the EAG response. These compounds can be used for behavioral response and field trapping experiments to further confirm their attractiveness to H. oblita.

Key words: Holotrichia oblita, Prunus persica, plant volatile, dose, gas chromatography-electroantennographic detection, electroantennography