Tuesday, December 11, 2007
D0425

First years results evaluating the feasability of the whole-farm approach to pest management in eastern apple production

Vonny M. Barlow, Vonny_Barlow@ncsu.edu and Jim Walgenbach, Jim_Walgenbach@ncsu.edu. North Carolina State University, Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center- Entomology, Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center, 455 Research Drive, Fletcher, NC

Highly diverse orchard plantings interspersed among managed and non-managed habitats preclude the use of an area-wide pest management approach to control key pests of eastern apples. In 2007, we began a 3-year study to evaluate the feasibility of the whole-farm approach to pest management in apple orchards. Twelve replicated orchard blocks (1.6 – 42.1 ha) were used to evaluate mating disruption of codling moth, Cydia pomonella (Linnaeus) and oriental fruit moth, Grapholita molesta (Busck) in combination with reduced risk or conventional insecticides. Isomate TT CM/OFM was applied pre-bloom to all mating disruption blocks at a rate of 200 dispensers/0.40 ha. In early April, monitoring traps for C. pomonella and G. molesta were placed into the upper canopy of trees at a rate of 1 trap for every 0.40 and 4.0 ha respectively. Timing and frequency of supplemental insecticide applications of both conventional and reduced risk insecticides were determined using degree-day models in combination with weekly trap counts. The impact of mating disruption and reduced-risk insecticides on internal-lepidopteran damage, phytoseiid mite populations, and economics was assessed.


Species 1: Lepidoptera Tortricidae Cydia pomonella (codling moth)
Species 2: Lepidoptera Tortricidae Grapholita molesta (oriental fruit moth)