Location: Innovative Fruit Production, Improvement, and Protection
Project Number: 8080-21000-030-008-R
Project Type: Reimbursable Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Oct 1, 2015
End Date: Aug 31, 2019
Objective:
The objectives of this project are to: 1) evaluate the efficacy of perimeter-based management techniques (IPM-CPR) for the control of brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), 2) determine the impact of insecticide input reduction through perimeter-based management on pollinators, and 3) evaluate the economic benefit of perimeter-based management strategies.
Approach:
At each farm, we will select two similar-sized orchard blocks (ca. 5 acres) of apple or peach, each of the same variety, for evaluation on up to 50 acres of commercial production. Across these blocks, we will compare standard grower management practices to IPM-CPR over two years. The standard orchard blocks will be maintained under current management practices for BMSB, other catfacing insects (e.g. tarnished plant bug), oriental fruit moth (OFM) and codling moth (CM). IPM-CPR orchard blocks will be placed under mating disruption for OFM and/or CM (Isomate OFM TT or Isomate CM/OFM), but reduced-risk insecticides will be applied if needed. BMSB will be managed by treating only the perimeter row/trees and the first full row on a weekly basis or as indicated through trap-based thresholds. Management for BMSB will be initiated at 75-80 DD timing (in peaches) or when trap threshold is reached (in apples). Once a month, along two transects, insect pollinators will be monitored at four sampling sites along the orchard border and four sampling sites 10 trees within the orchard interior in representative sites where groundcover management is adopted. Insect pollinators visiting the orchard trees and the flowering plants within the groundcover will be recorded during two-minute visual observations. Additionally, 10 sweep samples per sampling site will be used to collect pollinators visiting flowering plants within the groundcover for species identification. Furthermore, the flowering plants within the groundcover will be documented by identifying and assessing the abundance of flowering plants within random 1m x 1m quadrats placed at the eight pollinator sampling sites. Annual insecticide records will be collected. Total amount of active ingredients applied per acre to the various orchard blocks will be compared between treatments and related to the amount of insect damage measured there. This analysis will be integrated in an econometric module that incorporates value of the crop and costs of production, and placed in an interactive web page developed by the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES), Office of Research Analytics for peaches in New Jersey and apples in Virginia. This will be available to all growers on a national level.
