Evaluating the feasibility of whole-farm approach to pest management in eastern apple production

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. A 3-year project evaluating the feasibility of the whole-farm approach to pest management in apple orchards was begun in 2007. Twelve replicated orchard blocks in 2007 and 27 in 2008 (1.6 – 42.1-ha. for both years) were used to determine the effect of treatments consisting of mating disruption of codling moth, Cydia pomonella (Linnaeus) and oriental fruit moth, Grapholita molesta (Busck) in combination with reduced risk or conventional insecticides. Codlemone lures (dispensing > 0.5 mg/day) were applied pre-bloom to all mating disruption blocks at a rate of 200 /0.40 ha. In early April, monitoring traps for F. molesta and C. pomonella were placed into the upper canopy of trees at a rate of 1 trap for every 4.0 and 1.2 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.

Orchard fragmentation did not significantly impact (R²=0.005; f=0.064, df=1, P=0.080) numbers of C. pomonella trapped within orchards in 2007 with 2008 following a similar trend. No significant differences in the numbers of F. molesta and C. pomonella in 2007 were observed (f=0.066, df=13, P=0.477 and f=2.088, df=13, P=0.170 respectively) between mating disruption and conventional insecticide treated apple orchards.