Alston, Diane

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DigitalCommons@USU

A weekly question/answer column How Can I Keep My Pears And ApplesWorm Free?Diane Alston* answers:If you want worm-free apples and pears this fall, you should act now to protect them fromthe codling moth, a major apple and pear pest. Using insecticide sprays is probably the easiestmethod of preventing worms from getting into your fruit. There are also a number of otherpreventative steps you can take to keep worm numbers down.•  Pick up and destroy any fruit that drops prematurely from trees in June and July, sincethe fruit that falls is usually infested with worms. The worms will develop into newmoths that will lay eggs, hatch worms and invade your crop again later in the summer. • Place corrugated cardboard bands (2-3 inches wide) around trunks of apple and pear treeswith the fluted side against the bark. This will provide a good pupation site for the insectlarvae before they emerge as moths once again. Use trunk bands from late June throughthe early fall. Remove bands occasionally to check for the presence of fine silk webbingwith worms or pupae inside, then destroy the bands and replace them.• The best defense against worms invading your fruit is to use a registered insecticide.Based on the first activity of codling moths in the Cache Valley area and the temperaturessince then, it is predicted that the first insecticide spray should be applied to apples andpears by June 1. First sprays should go on five to seven days earlier for warmer areas ofNorthern Utah. Check with your local county Extension agent for an update on when tospray in your area. • Fruit will need to be protected until you pick it or until the first part of September.Reapply sprays based on the protection interval of the product you use (Imidan, 18-21days; Diazinon, 10-14 days; Malathion, 5-7 days; Dipel or other Bt products, 3-5 days). * Diane Alston is Utah State University Extension Entomologist 

How Can I Keep My Pears and Apples Worm Free?

https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1377&amp;context=extension_histall

How Can I Keep My Pears and Apples Worm Free?

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