Relationship Between Plant Phenology and Campylomma verbasci (Hemiptera: Miridae) Damage to Apple Fruit

Damage to apple (Malus domestica Borkhausen) by Campylomma verbasci (Meyer), has occurred even when effective insecticides are applied against nymphs present at the petal fall stage. However, insecticide application at pink bud prevents damage more effectively than when the same insecticides are applied at petal fall. We tested the hypothesis that most mullein bug damage occurs between bloom and petal fall by using two approaches. In the first, we caged naturally occurring nymphs on ‘Red Delicious' limbs and restricted their possible infestation timing by applying insecticides both before cages were placed and also through the cage at various crop stages from bloom through fruit set. In a second approach, we caged Red Delicious and ‘McIntosh' fruit clusters and introduced either small or large nymphs at various times from bloom through 3 wk after fruit set. Fruit damage on both varieties was greatest when small nymphs were introduced between bloom and petal fall; damage was uncommon from small nymphs introduced after fruit were ≍6 mm, and absent after the 13 mm size. However, damage was greater in cages into which large nymphs were introduced at 10-13 mm, than in untreated control cages. Fruit damage levels were equivalent on McIntosh and Red Delicious. We compared emergence of nymphs from McIntosh shoots with adjacent plantings of other, more susceptible cultivars by forcing hatch in the laboratory from cuttings collected in late winter. Significantly more nymphs hatched from susceptible varieties than from McIntosh, suggesting possible differences in levels of ovipositio

Trap Response and Fruit Damage by Obliquebanded Leafroller (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in Pheromone-Treated Apple Orchards in New York

Pheromone disruptants were tested from 1989 to 1992 in western New York to determine effect on trap catch and potential use in the control of obliquebanded leafroller. Choristoneura rosaceana (Harris), using polyethylene tube tie and controlled-release membrane dispensers in plots of 0.2-2.4 ha. Effectiveness of pheromone at different application rates and canopy locations was evaluated using synthetic pheromone-baited traps, molassesbaited traps, and by inspecting foliar terminals and fruit for leafroller damage. All pheromone treatments significantly reduced (by 56-97%) pheromone trap catches of male moths compared with catches in nontreated blocks. One application of a natural-blend formulation at 988 dispensers per hectare was better than 494/ha at disrupting trap catch of both Rights that occur during the year. However, mated female moths were present in the orchard center as frequently as anywhere else in a pheromone-treated block, indicating either immigration from outside sources or resident females that were not prevented from mating by the pheromone. The membrane dispenser emitted the 3-component natural blend at proportions similar to those in wild female moths. Pheromone traps placed in the tops of trees in a pheromone-treated orchard always caught higher numbers of male moths than those in lower- or middle-canopy positions. Pheromone treatment resulted in fruit damage similar to that of a pheromone + insecticide treatment under low to moderate leafroller population pressure (i.e., 3-5% fruit damage in untreated orchards); however, no control method was able to reduce damage to acceptable levels in all case

Novel Barriers to Prevent Dogwood Borer (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae) and Rodent Damage in Apple Plantings

We evaluated a combination of noninsecticidal alternatives to control trunk-damaging dogwood borer, Synanthedon scitula (Harris), consisting of novel barrier technologies, used alone or in combination with mating disruption. Barrier formulations evaluated included fibrous barriers of nonwoven ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) and nonfibrous barriers of rubberized paint (elastomer) used in building coatings. To examine efficacy of dogwood borer control in orchards, all barrier trials were replicated in field tests, both in combination with mating disruption and without it. Trunk inspections to determine whether mating disruption and barriers effectively reduced actual tree infestation showed pheromone disruption significantly reduced infestation compared with the untreated check, but was not as effective as trunk handgun sprays of chlorpyrifos. EVA trunk barriers were effective in preventing borer infestation compared with untreated trees. The elastomer did not differ from the check or the EVA treatment. There was no interaction between disruption and barrier treatments. Barrier field life and durability was assessed over 2 yr by comparing degradation over time due to weathering and other environmental effects including animal damage. The EVA persisted and remained more intact than the elastomer, but was in need of reapplication after 2 yr. Barriers were also screened for efficacy against voles in small-plot trials in nonorchard locations with known high vole pressure; they were tested either alone, combined with a repellent (thiram), or, in the case of the elastomer only, combined with an abrasive (sand). Only the EVA significantly lowered vole chewing damage relative to the untreated check

Attraction of the Invasive Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) to Traps Baited with Semiochemical Stimuli Across the United States

A recent identification of the two-component aggregation pheromone of the invasive stink bug species, Halyomorpha halys (Stål), in association with a synergist, has greatly improved the ability to accurately monitor the seasonal abundance and distribution of this destructive pest. We evaluated the attraction of H. halys to black pyramid traps baited with lures containing the pheromone alone, the synergist methyl (2E,4E,6Z)-decatrienoate (MDT) alone, and the two lures in combination. Traps were deployed around areas of agricultural production including fruit orchards, vegetables, ornamentals, or row crops in Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia from mid-April to mid-October, 2012 and 2013. We confirmed that H. halys adults and nymphs are attracted to the aggregation pheromone season long, but that attraction is significantly increased with the addition of the synergist MDT. H. halys adults were detected in April with peak captures of overwintering adults in mid- to late May. The largest adult captures were late in the summer, typically in early September. Nymphal captures began in late May and continued season long. Total captures declined rapidly in autumn and ceased by mid-October. Captures were greatest at locations in the Eastern Inland region, followed by those in the Eastern Coastal Plain and Pacific Northwest. Importantly, regardless of location in the United States, all mobile life stages of H. halys consistently responded to the combination of H. halys aggregation pheromone and the synergist throughout the entire season, suggesting that these stimuli will be useful tools to monitor for H. halys in managed system

Apple-Boring Beetles

NYS IPM Type: Fruits IPM Fact SheetAlthough the number of wood-boring beetles attacking fruit trees is relatively small and their infestations are sporadic, four species found in New York are capable of seriously damaging or killing trees. They differ some in biology and life history, but they are addressed here as a group because their general activities as a pest class are similar. Taken in order of importance and frequency as a pest, they are the roundheaded appletree borer, flatheaded appletree borer, broad necked root borer, and tilehorned prionus. With the exception of the flattheaded appletree borer, which is a buprestid (metallic woodboring beetle), they belong to the cerambycid (long-horned beetle) family, and the last two are closely related species in the group known as prionus root borers. All are native to and widely distributed throughout the United States and southern Canada. They all damage deciduous fruit and shade trees by tunneling as larvae in to the conducting tissue of the lower trunk, crown, and roots and compounding the injury by providing an entryway for destructive fungi. Each of these pests attacks a broad range of host plants. All four species attack apple, cherry, peach, and plum, and the roundheaded and flatheaded borers also occur in quince, pear, flowering crabapple, mountain ash, shadbush, cotoneaster, and hawthorn. The flatheaded borer and one or both of the two Prionus species are also serious pests of numerous other trees, including pecan, hickory, poplar, willow, chestnut, oak, maple, dogwood, linden, and several shrubs

Comstock Mealybug

NYS IPM Type: Fruits IPM Fact SheetThe Comstock mealybug (CMB) was first reported in the United States in 1918 concurrently in New York and California, and has since spread to all coastal states and the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys. Its fruit hosts include pear, apple, and peach, and it is also a pest of several ornamental plants such as catalpa, mulberry, pine, and others. CMB was first recognized as a fruit pest in the 1930s. From 1950 to 1980, it was infrequently noticed as a fruit pest, but in the early 1980s it caused damage to apple crops in the Hudson and Champlain valleys, and to pears in western New York later in the eighties

Redbanded Leafroller

NYS IPM Type: Fruits IPM Fact SheetThe redbanded leafroller (RBLR) has been reported to feed on apple since the 1870s, but was not found to be an economic pest of commercial apples in northeastern United States until1918. It remained a minor pest until the mid-1940s, when it became a major concern to apple growers in New York. Although RBLR is still a potentially serious pest of apples, it has not been considered a major problem since the introduction of azinphosmethyl and similar organophosphate insecticides in the 1960s. At present, it is generally controlled by sprays for other pests

Beneficial Insects

NYS IPM Type: Fruits IPM Fact SheetMany insects in apple orchards benefit growers by feeding on pest species. It is important that growers be able to recognize these beneficial insects so that they are not mistaken for pests. This fact sheet reviews the major beneficial insects that are likely to be seen in New York orchards, concentrating on the most commonly seen life stages

American Plum Borer

NYS IPM Type: Fruits IPM Fact SheetThe American plum borer (APB) is a cambium-feeding moth pest of fruit and ornamental trees. It is unusual because it belongs to the pyralid, rather than the sesiid (clearwing) family, which is more commonly associated with this kind of damage. It is the major borer pest of stone fruits in Michigan, causing up to a 33% decline in the life span of tart cherry trees there. Recent studies indicate that it is the most abundant borer in commercial tart cherry orchards in New York. Significant numbers are also found in peach trees infected by canker diseases. Widely distributed throughout most of North America and parts of South America, it has an extensive range of hosts including at least 15 families of fruit, nut, ornamental, and forest trees, and a few woody annuals. Its rise to major pest status in tart cherry can be traced to bark damaged by mechanical harvesters, which provides larvae an entryway to the cambium