Management of plum curculio (Conotrachelus nenuphar) and codling moth (Cydia pomonella) using strip cultivation

We assessed the efficacy of cultivation as a management strategy for plum curculio and codling moth in apple orchards.  Cocooned codling moth pupae and thinning apples infested with plum curculio larvae were cultivated over in the field.  Emergence, percent burial, damage to buried fruit, and depth of burial was recorded.  In the laboratory, the insects were buried at variable depths in several different media and emergence was measured. 100% mortality was observed for codling moth buried under at least 1cm of sand, and mortality of plum curculio only under 15 cm of sand or more.  These results indicate that codling moth diapausing or pupating in the leaf litter can be impacted by cultivation.