Mission:
The mission of the Fruit and Vegetable Insect Research Unit located near Wapato in Yakima County, Washington is to seek new and more effective means to control insect pests of temperate tree fruit and vegetable crops. Approaches include manipulation of insect behavior, development of biological control, and other biointensive methods for insect management, and the expansion of our fundamental knowledge and understanding of the major pests and the development of novel approaches to incorporate into pest management programs. Emphasized are the development of novel approaches, techniques, and technologies for pest management systems that will reduce use of chemical pesticides. These include semiochemicals, and parasites, predators, and pathogens of insect pests. Pests of primary concern are pear psylla, codling moth, apple maggot, and leafrollers on apple and pear, cherry fruit fly, and spotted wing drosophila on cherries, and potato psyllid, beet leafhopper, green peach aphid, and wireworms on potato. Treatments and strategies are developed to meet quarantine restrictions on tree fruits for export thus increasing exports of fruits and other agricultural commodities. As part of the IR-4 minor use program, studies continue to determine efficacy of insecticides and pesticide residues.