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Title: Management of oriental fruit moth with ground ULV spray applications of a microencapsulated sex pheromone

Author
item Knight, Alan
item Light, Douglas
item PICKEL, CAROLYN - UC COOP. EXT, YUBA CITY,
item KOVANCI, ORKUN - ULUDAG UNIV BURSA, TURKEY
item MOLINARI, FABIO - ISTITUTO, PIACENZA, ITALY

Submitted to: IOBC/WPRS Bulletin (Abstract for Conference Proceedings)
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/20/2006
Publication Date: 8/28/2008
Citation: Knight, A.L., Light, D.M., Pickel, C., Kovanci, O., Molinari, F. 2008. Management of oriental fruit moth with ground ULV spray applications of a microencapsulated sex pheromone. IOBC/WPRS Bulletin Vol. 37. Working Group "Integrated Plant Protection in Stone Fruit", Proceedings of the meeting at Balandran (France), 14-16 October, 2006. Edited by: Fabio Molinari, Jean Lichou and Emanuele Mazzoni, ISBN 978-92-9067-211-1 [viii + 173 pp].roceedings).

Interpretive Summary: Oriental fruit moth is the major destructive insect pest of peaches and nectarines in the United States and worldwide. Effective management programs that rely on the use of its sex pheromone have been developed and are widely adopted by growers. Growers typically attach plastic dispensers loaded with sex pheromone to trees at the beginning of the season. However, some growers are reluctant to use this technology on all of their acreage because their orchards consist of mixed cultivar blocks with harvest dates that range from June to September. Growers desire greater flexibility in the amount or duration of pheromone-based control they can use in each cultivar. Working with cooperators from the University of California, private consultants, and industry representatives, scientists at the USDA, ARS Yakima Agricultural Research Laboratory have developed a new application method using a sprayable pheromone formulation that can be applied in a low volume of water using an all-terrain vehicle. This approach increases the density of capsules deposited on the crop; thus growers can reduce their rate of pheromone. Field trials in 2005-06 were conducted in California and Turkey to demonstrate the potential of this approach. This new approach will provide growers greater flexibility in responding to outbreaks of this pest during the season and to supplement their established programs.

Technical Abstract: Sex pheromones have been widely used to manage oriental fruit moth (OFM) in stone fruits for 30 years. Microencapsulated formulations of sex pheromone have been developed and have proven to be an effective tactic. Recently, we developed the use of ultra low volume (ULV) ground applications of these microencapsulated products. The ULV spray is less expensive to apply and provides growers greater flexibility in adjusting their management programs for OFM. Studies in California and Turkey demonstrated that ULV sprays can be effective at even reduced rates of pheromone. These studies also demonstrate the need to quantify the deposition and retention of capsules over time in order to evaluate the level of success of any program and to compare the potential differences in application technology employed by different researchers or growers.