Nonrecovery of fertility in partially sterile male Phthorimaea operculella (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)

The ability of 150 Gy-irradiated male sperm of the potato tuber moth Phthorimaea operculella (Zeller) to recover their viability after 10 successive matings, or delayed mating for several time intervals was examined. Percentage of egg hatch indicated that neither the repeated mating nor the delayed mating could render the damaged sperm more viable. The irradiation did not influence the mating ability of male potato tuber moth; however, the successive and delayed mating have a great effect on the mating ability of this insect. The current study provided essential information necessary to increase the efficiency of partially sterile male technique as a control method against potato tuber moth.