Plum curculio voltinism and damage in western North Carolina

The plum curculio, Conotrachelus nenuphar(Herbst), is a key pest of fruit trees in eastern North America.  In the apple production region of western North Carolina, plum curculio has traditionally been managed with broad spectrum insecticides applied shortly after bloom. Tree fruit growers have seen a resurgence of this pest in recent years; due in part to IPM practices of using mating disruption and narrow-spectrum insecticides. Additionally, this schedule may be inadequate in regions of the Southern Appalachian Mountains where plum curculio is multivoltine and where control of first generation adults in the summer is necessary.  There is little information available on the biology of the plum curculio in North Carolina tree fruits.  This project focused on monitoring the development and damage of plum curculio at varying elevations within the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont regions of North Carolina, with the goal of better understanding voltinism and damage inflicted by different generations. 

Multiple monitoring techniques that including the use of combinations of grandisoic acid and benzeldehyde were used to monitor adult populations.  Individuals that were collected at each site were dissected to monitor for ovarian development.  Fruit damage assessments were also conducted at each orchard to monitor the severity and phenology of feeding and oviposition damage.  Degree-day accumulations was used in conjunction with adult trapping results to follow population development and damage in apples.