Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
and can be used as the trap crop. This push-pull approach is designed to
push the adults out of the center of the orchard and pull them to the peri-
meter, where they can be more easily controlled and where there will be less
damage to beneficial insects and mites in the main orchard. In a similar ap-
proach, called mass trapping, the orchard is sprayed with Surround. Areas
outside the orchard are stocked with many plum curculio traps that collect
the adults before they can reproduce.
The MSU group also reports that
Beauveria bassiana
fungi and
Stein-
ernema
nematodes appear to be promising ways of controlling plum curculio
between the spring and summer generations, when the pest is on the ground
or in dropped fruit. Apply these organisms following irrigation or rain.
In home and smaller orchards, it is very important to remove dropped
fruit throughout the season. In larger orchards, using hogs for controlled
grazing reduced subsequent plum curculio generations three- to five-fold,
according to MSU. Unfortunately, the National Organic Program requires re-
moving livestock from the orchard at least 90 days before harvesting tree
fruits. The grazing strategy might be effective with cherries, where the an-
imals are placed in the orchard after harvest.
Japanese Beetle
Japanese beetle was introduced to the eastern United States in about 1908
and has been moving westward with outbreaks across the United States and
Canada. The adults are bright, iridescent beetles with coppery wings and
feed on the leaves and fruits of stone and pome fruits and on a large range of
other plants. The white grubs feed on the roots of trees, shrubs, turfgrasses,
and other plants. There is one generation per year, and damage from adults
usually appears as irregular holes on or skeletonizing of the leaves. Fruits
may also be attacked.
Although pheromone traps are available, studies have shown that they
attract more beetles than they catch. If you use these traps to monitor
Japanese beetle populations, place the traps well away from your orchard.
Most Japanese beetle control programs target the grubs. Milky spore virus
